The duration of febrile seizures and peripheral leukocytosis☆,☆☆,★
Section snippets
Patients
We assessed the data of 203 consecutive patients, aged 3 months to 5 years, who visited the Sophia Children’s Hospital Rotterdam between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 1992, with a seizure associated with fever. In a previous study we developed a predictive model for biochemical blood test results in these children with seizures associated with fever.6 Febrile seizures were defined according to the National Institutes of Health Consensus of 1980.7 Children were excluded if their seizures
Results
The study population comprised 125 (62%) boys and 78 (38%) girls; they were 1.5 years of age (25th and 75th percentiles, 1.2 to 2.2 years). The seizure characteristics are shown in the Table.
Seizure characteristics Total Blood leukocyte count OR (95% CI) univariable P value <15·109 cells/L (n =129, 64%) ≥15·109 cells/L (n = 74, 36%) Focal type* 31 (15%) 19 12 1.1 (0.5-2.5) .78 Multiple type† 64 (32%) 40 24 1.1 (0.6-2.0) .83 Duration (min) 9
Discussion
The results of this study demonstrated that the leukocyte count in the peripheral blood is not significantly related to the duration of the seizure or any other seizure characteristics. Besides assessing the underlying cause of the fever, leukocyte counts are rarely useful as a diagnostic tool in children with seizures associated with fever.1, 7, 8, 9 Furthermore, in children with shigellosis, no relation was shown between an increased leukocyte count and the occurrence of a febrile seizure.10
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Cited by (0)
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From the Department of Pediatrics, Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Public Health, Erasmus University, Rotterdam; Julius Center for Patient Oriented Research, University Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands; and Department of Pediatrics, Juliana Children’s Hospital, Den Haag, The Netherlands.
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Reprint requests: Margriet van Stuijvenberg, MD, Sophia Children’s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Room Sp 1545, Dr Molewaterplein 60, 3015 GJ Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
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0022-3476/98/$5.00 + 0 9/22/93288