The frequency of EEG abnormalities in children with febrile seizure

Background and Objective: Febrile seizures are one of the most common neurological disorders in children. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of abnormal EEG reports and their association with other risk factors of febrile seizures. Material &Method: In this prospective observational study, all patients with febrile seizure admitted in Mousavi Hospital in Zanjan, Iran, from April 2015 to March 2016 were enrolled. EEG was done in all patients and the clinical data were recorded in prepared questionnaire .The statistical analysis was performed by using the software spss.16. Results:  One hundred seventy patients, 92 (54.1%) male and 78 (45.9%) female with the mean age of 28.57 months were evaluated. The EEG reports were normal in140 (82.4%) cases and 30 (17.6%) cases had abnormal reports including 8 cases(26.6%) of spike & sharp electric discharge, 2 cases (6.6%)of slow activity and 20 cases(66.6%) of nonspecific changes. EEG abnormalities were significantly related with male sex (P = 0.020), history of previous febrile convulsion (p< 0.001), positive family history of epilepsy and febrile seizures (p< 0.001) and complex type of febrile convulsion (p< 0.001). Longer duration of seizure (p< 0.001) and older age of patients (p< 0.033) had significant relation with abnormal EEG. Conclusion: Although EEG is not routinely performed in all patients with febrile seizure, it is recommended in male gender, age over 3 years, complex febrile seizure, previous history of seizure and family history of epilepsy or febrile seizures.