Download PDF
Journal of Pediatric Neurology 2021; 19(01): 007-013
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1685485
Original Article

Malaria Infection as a Leading Cause of Febrile Seizures among Children with Seizures in Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria

Oluwasola Julius Oke
1   Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria
,
Adebukola Ajite
2   Department of Paediatrics, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
,
Oluwadare Isaac Oluwayemi
2   Department of Paediatrics, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
,
Oladele Simeon Olatunya
2   Department of Paediatrics, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
,
Ezra Olatunde Ogundare
2   Department of Paediatrics, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
,
Fadlulai Olaoluwa Abdulraheem
2   Department of Paediatrics, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
› Author Affiliations
Funding None.
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Febrile seizure (FS) is among the leading cause of pediatric admissions in developing countries. The etiologic patterns of FS among children attending Pediatric Emergency of Ekiti State Teaching Hospital in Ado Ekiti were studied. A prospective study of children who had FS was carried out. A prevalence of 2.9% was found and malaria was the leading cause of FS in 111 (85.4%) patients. Seventy-eight (60%) of the 130 patients with FS had their seizure occurring within the first 24 hours of onset of fever. Malaria was the most common cause of fever precipitating FS in the index study. Prevention of malaria and prompt management of fever will reduce the prevalence and improve the outcome of FS. The overall prevalence of FS is similar to developed countries and the etiology is similar to other studies from Nigeria.

Keywords

patterns - febrile seizure - etiology - malaria


Publication History

Received: 15 December 2018

Accepted: 07 March 2019

Article published online:
20 April 2019

© 2019. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

  • References

  • 1 Guidelines for epidemiologic studies on epilepsy. Commission on Epidemiology and Prognosis, International League Against Epilepsy. Epilepsia 1993; 34: 592-596
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 2 National Institutes of Health. Febrile seizures: consensus development conference summary, Vol. 3, No. 2. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health; 1980
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 3 Gourabi HE, Bidabadi E, Cheraghalipour F, Aarabi Y, Salamat F. Febrile seizure: demographic features and causative factors. Iran J Child Neurol 2012; 6 (04) 33-37
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 4 Annegers JF, Hauser WA, Elveback LR, Kurland LT. The risk of epilepsy following febrile convulsions. Neurology 1979; 29 (03) 297-303
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 5 Annegers JF, Blakley SA, Hauser WA, Kurland LT. Recurrence of febrile convulsions in a population-based cohort. Epilepsy Res 1990; 5 (03) 209-216
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 6 Berg AT, Shinnar S, Darefsky AS. et al. Predictors of recurrent febrile seizures. A prospective cohort study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1997; 151 (04) 371-378
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 7 Berg AT, Shinnar S, Hauser WA. et al. A prospective study of recurrent febrile seizures. N Engl J Med 1992; 327: 1122-1127
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 8 Berg AT, Shinnar S, Hauser WA, Leventhal JM. Predictors of recurrent febrile seizures: a metaanalytic review. J Pediatr 1990; 116 (03) 329-337
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 9 Verity CM, Butler NR, Golding J. Febrile convulsions in a national cohort followed up from birth. I--Prevalence and recurrence in the first five years of life. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985; 290 (6478): 1307-1310
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 10 Nelson KB, Ellenberg JH. Prognosis in children with febrile seizures. Pediatrics 1978; 61 (05) 720-727
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 11 Hussain S, Tarar SH, Moin Ud Din Sabir. Febrile seizures: demographic, clinical and etiological profile of children admitted with febrile seizures in a tertiary care hospital. J Pak Med Assoc 2015; 65 (09) 1008-1010
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 12 Berg AT, Shinnar S. Complex febrile seizures. Epilepsia 1996; 37 (02) 126-133
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 13 Van der Berg BJ, Yerushalmy J. Studies on convulsive disorders in young children. I. Incidence of febrile and nonfebrile convulsions by age and other factors. Pediatr Res 1969; 3 (04) 298-304
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 14 Practice parameter: The neurodiagnostic evaluation of the child with a first simple febrile seizure. American Academy of Pediatrics. Provisional Committee on Quality Improvement, Subcommittee on Febrile Seizures. Pediatrics 1996; 97: 769-772 ; discussion 773-775
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 15 Berg AT. The epidemiology of seizures and epilepsy in children. In: Shinnar S, Amir N, Branski D. eds. Childhood Seizures. Basel: Karger; 1995: 1-10
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 16 Tsuboi T. Epidemiology of febrile and afebrile convulsions in children in Japan. Neurology 1984; 34 (02) 175-181
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 17 Stanhope JM, Brody JA, Brink E, Morris CE. Convulsions among the Chamorro people of Guam, Mariana islands. II. Febrile convulsions. Am J Epidemiol 1972; 95 (03) 299-304
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 18 Eseigbe EE, Adama SJ, Eseigbe P. Febrile seizures in Kaduna, north western Nigeria. Niger Med J 2012; 53 (03) 140-144
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 19 Ibeziako SN, Ibekwe RC. Pattern and outcome of admissions in the children's emergency room of the university of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. Niger J Paediatr 2002; 29 (04) 103-108
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 20 Familusi JB, Sinnette CH. Febrile convulsions in Ibadan children. Afr J Med Sci 1971; 2 (02) 135-150
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 21 Oseni SBA. Febrile convulsion in Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa. A case study of the pattern and some of the associated factors [dissertation]. Nigeria: The National Post Graduate Medical College; 1997
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 22 Angyo IA, Lawson JO, Okpeh ES. Febrile convulsions in Jos. Niger J Paediatr 1997; 24: 7-13
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 23 Olowu AO, Olanrewaju DM. Pattern of febrile convulsion in hospitalized children. Niger J Paediatr 1992; 19 (01) 1-5
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 24 Akpede GO, Abiodun PO, Sykes RM. Pattern of infections in children under-six years old presenting with convulsions associated with fever of acute onset in a children's emergency room in Benin City, Nigeria. J Trop Pediatr 1993; 39 (01) 11-15
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 25 Uzodike VO. Paediatric emergencies in general practice. Niger J Paediatr 1976; 3 (02) 39
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 26 Daoud A. Febrile seizures: review Articles. J Med J. 2008; 42 (03) 170-173
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 27 Fagbule D, Chike-Obi UD, Akintunde EA. Febrile convulsions in Ilorin. Niger J Paediatr 1992; 18 (01) 23-27
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 28 Habib Z, Akram S, Ibrahim S, Hasan B. Febrile seizures: factors affecting risk of recurrence in Pakistani children presenting at the Aga Khan University Hospital. J Pak Med Assoc 2003; 53 (01) 11-17
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 29 Mohebbi MR, Holden KR, Butler IJ. FIRST: a practical approach to the causes and management of febrile seizures. J Child Neurol 2008; 23 (12) 1484-1488
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 30 Bethune P, Gordon K, Dooley J, Camfield C, Camfield P. Which child will have a febrile seizure?. Am J Dis Child 1993; 147 (01) 35-39
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 31 Berg AT, Shinnar S, Shapiro ED, Salomon ME, Crain EF, Hauser WA. Risk factors for a first febrile seizure: a matched case-control study. Epilepsia 1995; 36 (04) 334-341
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 32 Offringa M, Bossuyt PMM, Lubsen J. et al. Risk factors for seizure recurrence in children with febrile seizures: a pooled analysis of individual patient data from five studies. J Pediatr 1994; 124 (04) 574-584
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 33 Offringa M, Derksen-Lubsen G, Bossuyt PM, Lubsen J. Seizure recurrence after a first febrile seizure: a multivariate approach. Dev Med Child Neurol 1992; 34 (01) 15-24
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 34 Van den Berg BJ. Studies on convulsive disorders in young children. 3. Recurrence of febrile convulsions. Epilepsia 1974; 15 (02) 177-190
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 35 Shirts SB, Annegers JF, Hauser WA. The relation of age at first febrile seizure to recurrence of febrile seizures (abstract). Epilepsia 1987; 28: 625
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 36 el-Radhi AS, Banajeh S. Effect of fever on recurrence rate of febrile convulsions. Arch Dis Child 1989; 64 (06) 869-870
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 37 Graves RC, Oehler K, Tingle LE. Febrile seizures: risks, evaluation, and prognosis. Am Fam Physician 2012; 85 (02) 149-153
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 38 Facts about the Ekiti State. The official website of Ekiti State Government. Available at: http://www.ekitistate.gov.ng
  • 39 Federal Republic of Nigeria. National Population Census official Gazette. Annexure A, B and C 2006; 96 (02) B1-B42
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 40 WHO. Diagnosis of malaria. Guidelines for the treatment of malaria. 3rd ed.. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2015. . Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/162441/1/9789241549127_eng.pdf?ua=1
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 41 Ochola LB, Vounatsou P, Smith T, Mabaso ML, Newton CR. The reliability of diagnostic techniques in the diagnosis and management of malaria in the absence of a gold standard. Lancet Infect Dis 2006; 6 (09) 582-588
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 42 WHO. Basic malaria microscopy. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010 . Available at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241547826_eng.pdf
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 43 Olusanya O, Okpere EE, Ezimokhai M. The importance of social class in voluntary fertility control in a developing country. West Afr J Med 1985; 4: 205-212
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 44 Waruiru C, Appleton R. Febrile seizures: an update. Arch Dis Child 2004; 89 (08) 751-756
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 45 Liyanage G, de Silva TUN, Perera BJC. A survey on febrile seizures at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children. Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health 2005; 34 (04) 109-113
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 46 Oluwayemi OI, Brown BJ, Oyedeji OA, Adegoke SA, Adebami OJ, Oyedeji GA. Clinical and laboratory predictors of outcome in cerebral malaria in suburban Nigeria. J Infect Dev Ctries 2013; 7 (08) 600-607
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 47 WHO, Global Malaria Situation. World Malaria Report 2005. WHO/HTM/MAL/2005.1102 ed. Volume WHO/HTM/MAL/2005.1102. Geneva: RBM/UNICEF/World Health Organization; 2005: 5-17
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 48 Lewis HM, Parry JV, Parry RP. et al. Role of viruses in febrile convulsions. Arch Dis Child 1979; 54 (11) 869-876
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 49 Ibadin O, Ofili N, Morrison O, Nkwuo E. Exclusive breastfeeding and malaria in early infancy: experience from Benin City, Nigeria. J Med Biomed Res. 2012; 11 (01) 116-122
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 50 Pathirage SP. A study of febrile seizures in children presenting to teaching hospital, Kurunegala. Sri Lanka J Child Health 2010; 39 (02) 47-48
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 51 Oche OM, Onankpa OB. Using women advocacy groups to enhance knowledge and home management of febrile convulsion amongst mothers in a rural community of Sokoto State, Nigeria. Pan Afr Med J 2013; 14: 49
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar