Febrile Seizures
Dr. Latha Ravichandran, DCH, DNB(Pediatric Medicine)*

Introduction
Febrile seizure is the commonest neurolo-gical problem encountered in pediatric practice and is the most frequent cause of convulsions in infancy. The incidence of febrile seizures has been reported as 2-4% of children

under 5 years of age.
Definition
Febrile seizures occur between 6 months and 5 years of age in the context of fever, usually above (101.5oF) and most often as the temperature rises or at its peak. The seizures are usually phenotypically

grand mal, although they may be tonic, atonic or clonic.
Classification
a. Simple or typical febrile seizures : They are single, generalised seizures and last less than 15 minutes with no focal features during or following the fit.
b. Complex or atypical febrile seizures : Seizures lasting for more than 15 minutes, repeated convulsions for several hours or days and a focal seizure. Approximately 50% will have recurrent febrile seizures and a few multiple recurrent seizures.