Febrile Convulsions in Jos

Abstract

Summary: A retrospective study of 163 cases of febrile convulsions OD which was undertaken in order to determine the pattern and outcome among chil Der dren admitted into the emergency paediatric unit (EPU), Jos University Teaching ESTONE Hospital (JUTH), over a two-year period, revealed that the condition accounted for BART 8.05 percent of all admissions during the study period. The mean age of the pa 20 t ients was 2.5 +1.3 years with the majority of 78.5 percent being aged three years and below. The male to female ratio was 2:1. A single episode of convulsion BEBE occurred in 47.9 percent of the patients; a past history of the condition was ob Bab tained from 37.4 percent of the subjects and of these, the convulsion occurred in 67 i br percent within the previous 12 months. The fist attack of convulsion occurred before the age of three years in 83 percent of the subjects and those with an onset of attack during infancy were more likely (P<0.01) to have recurrences than those with later onset. Malaria fever was the commonest underlying cause of convul sion, accounting for 74.8 percent of all the causes. Mortality in the series was 1.8 percent and this was associated with the administration of traditional concoctions, prolonged seizures and hypoglycaemia.