Prevalence of Febrile Seizures in School-Aged Children: A Community Based Survey in Izmir, Turkey

INTRODUCTION: Febrile seizures are the most common seizures seen in childhood. Although they are usually benign and self-limiting, parents feel great fear and concern about it. The prevalence of febrile seizures varies in different parts of the world. These differences are thought to be due to genetic, geographic and environmental factors. However, there has been no recent study about the prevalence of febrile seizure among Turkish children. This study was designed to find out the prevalence, clinical and some epidemiological features of the febrile seizures among the Turkish school children.
METHODS: A school based, cross-sectional study was conducted in first and second-class children. Stratified cluster sampling technique was used to define the study population, which represents the schools located in the metropolitan area of Izmir. Data were collected through a standard questionnaire from the parents who agreed to be involved in the study. The survey had questions about some demographic features of the children and febrile seizure episodes.
RESULTS: 3806 children and parent pairs accepted to participate in the survey. Febrile seizure prevalence was 4.8% (boys, 5.2%; girls, 4.3%, p>0.05). It was found that 28.5% of the children experienced their first FS between the age of 18 months and three years old and most of them had an upper respiratory tract infection. The most common practice by parents during the seizure was the admission to the nearest emergency room. Recurrence rate for febrile seizure was 33.0%.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The febrile seizure prevalence determined in our study is lower than the previous studies in Turkey. It was thought that advancing healthcare systems in our country might be decreased the febrile seizure prevalence within last eight years in Izmir.