Comparison of Clinical Characteristics in Patients with Febrile Seizures Based on Prior COVID-19 Infection

Abstract

Purpose Febrile seizures (FSs) are neurological events associated with fever, typically occurring in children between 6 months and 5 years of age in the absence of central nervous system infection. Growing evidence suggests that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause immune system dysregulation. This study compared the clinical characteristics of patients with FS based on whether they had experienced prior COVID-19 infection. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of the medical records of 114 patients with FS who visited Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital between January 2019 and December 2022. Results The study cohort included 70 (61.4%) boys and 44 (38.6%) girls, with a mean age of 22.99±11.68 months at seizure onset. Among the 114 patients with FS, 19 had a history of COVID-19, while 95 did not. These groups differed significantly in the interval between the onset of fever and seizure. Specifically, when using a 12-hour threshold for analysis, a significantly greater proportion of patients with a history of COVID-19 exhibited intervals exceeding 12 hours compared to those without such a history. No significant differences were noted regarding sex, age, seizure frequency, personal history of FS, or family history of FS or epilepsy between the groups. Conclusion Pediatric patients with FS and prior COVID-19 infection exhibited longer intervals between the onset of fever and seizure compared to those without previous COVID-19 infection. This finding suggests that COVID-19 may influence the mechanisms underlying FS. To better understand this relationship, long-term follow-up studies with larger cohorts are warranted.

Keywords

• coronavirus
• seizures
• fever