A Hospital Based Case Control Study on Correlation Between Simple Febrile Seizure and Iron Deficiency Anaemia

Abstract

Febrile seizure (FS) is the most common convulsive disorder in children, which affects 2-5% of children aged between 3 to 60 months. Among the numerous biological effects of iron, there is considerable evidence that iron is also important for neurological functioning. Aims and Objectives: To assess and evaluate any possible association between febrile convulsion and iron deficiency anaemia. Materials and Methods: This case-control study involved 300 children aged from six months to 5 years, hospitalized in the pediatrics ward of NMCH, Patna from May 2019 to November 2020. They were divided into two groups of 150 children each. In the case group children having simple febrile convulsion were kept and the control group had children with fever of less than 3 days duration but without febrile convulsion. Result: The risk of simple febrile seizure was 1.86 times more among the patients with level of hemoglobin < 11 gm/dl as compared with the patients with level of hemoglobin≥11 gm/dl [OR-1.76(1.01, 3.08); p= 0.04] and the risk was significant. Conclusion: we concluded that iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was more frequently seen among children with FS than those with febrile illness alone. .All the investigations done also suggested that iron deficient children are more prone for febrile seizures and hence prophylactic iron supplementation in iron deficient anaemic children can probably avert first febrile convulsions.