The impact of electrolytes in pathogenesis of simple febrile convulsions

Abstract

Febrile convulsion is one of the most common seizure disturbances in children with an approximate rate of 2%–5%, febrile seizures (FSs) occur between the age of 6 and 60 months with a 38°C or higher temperature, and they do not result from central nervous system infection or any metabolic imbalance, and these seizures occur when a history of prior FSs is absent. In this study, 150 children whose ages ranged between 6 and 60 months were divided into three groups: Group A included 50 children with febrile convulsions, Group B included 50 children having fever without convulsion, and Group C included 50 healthy children with nonfebrile convulsions. In the present study, the serum sodium and potassium were significantly lower in cases of febrile convulsion than the control groups, whereas no significant changes were shown in the levels of ionic calcium in the cases of febrile convulsion when compared with the control groups. These findings revealed that there is a correlation between differences of serum sodium and potassium in simple febrile convulsion.

Keywords

• Convulsions
• febrile convulsions
• fever
• potassium and calcium
• sodium