مجلة كلية الطب (Jul 2019)
Serum Zinc and Copper in Children with Febrile Seizures
Abstract
Background : Trace elements are essential micronutrients that exist in very low concentrations in the body. They play an important role in various physiological processes and are crucial for proper functioning of the immune system. Many studies have shown that some micronutrients may have role in febrile seizure such as selenium, zinc and copper. Aim : A case - control study was carried out to determine the level of serum zinc and copper in the children with febrile seizures and determine their relation to selected patients' variables. Methods: The study includes; 66 infants and children (36 males and 30 females) who were admitted to emergency department with simple febrile seizures , over 8 months period . Two control groups were selected; febrile control group (58 infants and children) were seen in the outpatient clinic or emergency department because of febrile illnesses other than central nervous system infection with no history of seizure and healthy control group (62 infants and children) who have consulted primary health care centers for immunization or routine health visit. History was taken including present illness , past history, and family history of febrile seizure or epilepsy. All patients underwent general and systemic examination, vital signs were measured and anthropometric measurements (WT and HT or length) were assessed and applied to appropriate growth charts. Serum zinc and copper were measured for all infants and children enrolled in the study. Results :There was no significant difference in age, sex and anthropometric measurements of infants and children among patients with febrile seizure and control groups. As well as high grade fever is recorded in 80% of patients and family history of febrile seizure is negative in 89% of patients. The mean temperature in children with febrile seizures and febrile control group is (39.5○C and 39.3 ○C ) respectively , with statistically no significant difference (P value 0.37) . Despite higher frequency of upper respiratory tract infection and pneumonia seen in patients with febrile seizure and febrile control group, the difference is not significant (P value 0.276) . Patients with febrile seizure have significantly low mean serum zinc level (8.85 ±3.26) in comparison to febrile patients and healthy children (14.98 ±2.2 ), (13.33 ±1.99 ) respectively ( P value 0.000) . However, there is no significant difference between febrile and healthy control groups ( P value 0.182) . There is no a significant association between the level of serum zinc to selected patients variables as : the age, sex, anthropometric measurements, family history of febrile seizure, frequency of convulsions, grades of fever and diagnosis ( P value > 0.05). Patients with febrile seizure diagnosed with pneumonia have low mean serum zinc level than those children with upper respiratory tract infection or urinary tract infection, but the result was statistically not significant (P value > 0.05). Mean serum copper level didn’t show significant difference between patients with febrile seizure and control groups. (p value 0.27 ). Conclusion : zinc supplementation may be considered in children who are at risk of recurrent febrile seizures
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