An analog medical thermometer showing a temperature of 38.8 °C or 101.8 °F
Specialty
Emergency medicine, neurology
Symptoms
Tonic-clonic seizure[1]
Usual onset
Ages of 6 months to 5 years[1]
Duration
Typically less than 5 minutes[1]
Types
Simple, complex[1]
Causes
High body temperature[1]
Risk factors
Family history[1]
Differential diagnosis
Meningitis, metabolic disorders[1]
Treatment
Supportive care[1]
Medication
Benzodiazepines (rarely needed)[1]
Prognosis
Good[1]
Frequency
~5% of children[2]
A febrile seizure, also known as a fever fit or febrile convulsion, is a seizure associated with a high body temperature but without any serious underlying health issue.[1] They most commonly occur in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years.[1][3] Most seizures are less than five minutes in duration, and the child is completely back to normal within an hour of the event.[1][4] There are two types: simple febrile seizures and complex febrile seizures.[1] Simple febrile seizures involve an otherwise healthy child who has at most one tonic-clonic seizure lasting less than 15 minutes in a 24-hour period.[1] Complex febrile seizures have focal symptoms, last longer than 15 minutes, or occur more than once within 24 hours.[5] About 80% are classified as simple febrile seizures.[6]
Febrile seizures are triggered by fever, typically due to a viral infection.[6] They may run in families.[1] The underlying mechanism is not fully known, but it is thought to involve genetics, environmental factors, brain immaturity, and inflammatory mediators.[7][8][6] The diagnosis involves verifying that there is not an infection of the brain, there are no metabolic problems, and there have not been prior seizures that have occurred without a fever.[1][6] Blood testing, imaging of the brain, or an electroencephalogram (EEG) is typically not needed.[1] Examination to determine the source of the fever is recommended.[1][6] In otherwise healthy-looking children a lumbar puncture is not necessarily required.[1]
Neither anti-seizure medication nor anti-fever medication are recommended in an effort to prevent further simple febrile seizures.[1][9] In the few cases that last greater than 5 minutes, a benzodiazepine such as lorazepam or midazolam may be used.[1][10] Efforts to rapidly cool during a seizure is not recommended.[11]
Febrile seizures affect 2–10% of children.[2] They are more common in boys than girls.[12] After a single febrile seizure there is an approximately 35% chance of having another one during childhood.[6] Outcomes are generally excellent with similar academic achievements to other children and no change in the risk of death for those with simple seizures.[1] There is tentative evidence that affected children have a slightly increased risk of epilepsy at 2% compared to the general population.[1]
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxGraves RC, Oehler K, Tingle LE (January 2012). "Febrile seizures: risks, evaluation, and prognosis". American Family Physician. 85 (2): 149–53. PMID 22335215.
^Cite error: The named reference Stat2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Symptoms of febrile seizures". www.nhs.uk. 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
^Cite error: The named reference AAP2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcdefCite error: The named reference Leu2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference BMJ2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Kwon2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Offringa M, Newton R, Nevitt SJ, Vraka K (16 June 2021). "Prophylactic drug management for febrile seizures in children". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2021 (6): CD003031. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003031.pub4. ISSN 1469-493X. PMC 8207248. PMID 34131913.
^Prasad P (2013). Pocket Pediatrics: The Massachusetts General Hospital for Children Handbook of Pediatrics. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 419. ISBN 9781469830094. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017.
^"Febrile Seizures". familydoctor.org. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
^Ronald M. Perkin, ed. (2008). Pediatric hospital medicine : textbook of inpatient management (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 266. ISBN 9780781770323. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017.
A febrileseizure, also known as a fever fit or febrile convulsion, is a seizure associated with a high body temperature but without any serious underlying...
with seizures but are not epilepsy including: most febrileseizures and those that occur around an acute infection, stroke, or toxicity. These seizures are...
children under 5 years of age. Febrileseizures fall into two categories: simple and complex. A simple febrileseizure is generalized, occurs singularly...
becomes flushed, and may begin to sweat. Rarely a fever may trigger a febrileseizure, with this being more common in young children. Fevers do not typically...
the nervous system itself as well as in the cardiovascular system. A febrileseizure, or "fever fit", is a convulsion associated with a significant rise...
Generalized epilepsy with febrileseizures plus (GEFS+) is a syndromic autosomal dominant disorder where affected individuals can exhibit numerous epilepsy...
seizure during their childhood. In most cases, a febrileseizure will not indicate epilepsy. Approximately 40% of children who experience a febrile seizure...
be made for persons who have had an isolated seizure or febrileseizures and have remained free of seizures into adulthood without medication. In the United...
epilepsy with febrileseizures plus (GEFS+) is an umbrella for many other syndromes that share causative genes. Patients experience febrileseizures early in...
pink and lasts for less than three days. Complications may include febrileseizures, with serious complications being rare. It is caused by human herpesvirus...
characterized by prolonged febrile and non-febrileseizures within the first year of a child's life. This disease progresses to other seizure types like myoclonic...
toddlers, febrileseizures, and hippocampal anomalies. The occurrence of fever before the sudden deaths later in sleep, could explain the febrileseizure hypotheses...
of febrileseizures (fever fits) in the MMRV. 74% of family doctors and 29% of pediatricians were unaware of the increased risk of febrileseizures. After...
for children with fever who appear distressed. It does not prevent febrileseizures. It appears that 0.2 °C decrease of the body temperature in children...
whole-cell vaccines develop redness at the injection site or fever. Febrileseizures and long periods of crying occur in less than 1% of people. With the...
degeneration over time. Patients may also present with seizures, ranging from single febrileseizure to intractable epilepsy. Following brain MRI, patients...
Some cases of fever-induced reflex anoxic seizures are likely to be misdiagnosed as febrile (epileptic) seizures, as has been emphasized by a number of authors...
person they know has epilepsy, even if the seizures are controlled by medication. If the employee has a seizure while at work, they could harm themselves...
pyrethroids. Diazepam is sometimes used intermittently for the prevention of febrileseizures that may occur in children under five years of age. Recurrence rates...
prophylaxis in the treatment of febrileseizures. Although an effective treatment in preventing recurrent febrileseizures, it had no positive effect on...
are seizure-free for at least four years. Children who have had a febrileseizure prior to the age of five may fly if they are off of all seizure medication...
surprisedly with a yawn and laughing. The symptoms of ankelis fit with febrileseizure – chronic fever accompanied by convulsion. The child also experiences...
administration of the vaccines. One 2008 study indicated a rate of febrileseizures of 9 per 10,000 vaccinations with MMRV, as opposed to 4 per 10,000...
derivatives, theophylline, antihistamines, etc.) in children who have had febrileseizures. Some convulsants such as pentetrazol and flurothyl were previously...
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