Breath holding spells in 91 children and response to treatment with iron
Hilal Mocan, Alisan Yildiran, Fazil Orhan, Erol Erduran
Department of
Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz (Black Sea) Technical
University, Trabzon, Turkey
Correspondence to: Professor H Mocan, Tesvikiye Caddesi No. 143, 80200 Nisantasi-Istanbul, Turkey.
Accepted 16
February 1999
To evaluate the prognosis of breath holding spells (BHS) after
iron treatment, 91 children (56 boys, 35 girls) aged between 6 months
and 40 months (median, 17) were followed prospectively for a median of
45 months (range, 6-89). In 49 of the children, the frequency of BHS
was less than 10 each month, in 22 it was 10-30 each month, and in 20 more than 30 each month. The spells were cyanotic in 60 children. All
patients were evaluated initially and during follow up for
haematological indices. Electroencephalographic and
electrocardiographic abnormalities were also recorded. Sixty three
patients were found to have iron deficiency anaemia and were treated
with iron (6 mg/kg/day) for three months. Other patients were not
given any treatment. After three months, there was a significant
difference for correction of cyanotic spells between children who had
been treated with iron and those who had not (84.1%
v 21.4%). During further follow up, febrile
convulsions occurred in 10 children (six were on iron treatment
initially). It appears that treating iron deficiency anaemia is
effective in reducing the frequency of BHS.
Keywords: iron deficiency; breath holding spells; anaemia
© 1999 by Archives of Disease in Childhood
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