Subsequent afebrile seizure in children who have a first seizure with fever after 6 years of age

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the risk and the risk factors associated with subsequent afebrile seizures in 31 children who experienced their first seizure with fever after 6 years of age. The children were classified into two groups. Group I comprised children with their first seizure with fever after 6 years of age (n = 15). Group II comprised children who had febrile seizures before 5 years of age and who had recurrent seizures with fever after 6 years of age (n = 16). Of these 31 children, 7 (22.5%) had subsequent afebrile seizure. The cumulative probability of subsequent afebrile seizure was 13.3% at 6 months and 36 months in group I; in group II, the cumulative probability was 12.5% at 6 months, 18.8% at 18 months, 25% at 24 months, and 31.3% at 36 months. There was no significant difference in the risk for subsequent afebrile seizures between the two groups. There were no risk factors associated with an increased risk of subsequent afebrile seizures. If the first seizure with fever occurred after 6 years of age, this was a significant risk for subsequent afebrile seizure; the risk of seizure recurrence in this group appears to be similar to children who have persistent febrile seizures after 6 years of age, but far below that of children with first epileptic seizure.