Evaluation of the Relationship Between Iron Deficiency Anemia and Febrile Seizures

Abstract

Objective: Febrile convulsions are the most common neurologic problems in children. We investigated whether iron deficiency anemia affects febrile convulsions. Material and Methods: This study was conducted as a retrospective cross-sectional study with 100 children aged between 6 months and 78 months who visited the Gaziantep University Şahinbey Practice and Research Hospital, Pediatric Emergency Department and Pediatric Outpatient Clinic between January 2016 and September 2019. Participants were examined in two groups in terms of the presence or absence of iron deficiency anemia. Results: 50% (n=50) of the individuals included in the study had febrile seizures (FS) (case group), and 50% (n=50) did not have FS (control group). The rate of iron deficiency anemia was 22% (n=11) in the case group and 16% (n=8) in the control group. Conclusion: We observed that the low hemoglobin level was more evident in children with febrile convulsions, but the difference was not statistically significant. It was determined that 22% of patients with FS had iron deficiency anemia, but there was not any notable difference from the control group.

Keywords

• anemia
• febrile seizures
• iron deficiency
• pediatrics