TO EVALUATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IRON DEFICIENCY AND FEBRILE SEIZURES

BACKGROUND Febrile seizures [FS] are convulsions brought on by a fever in infants or small children. Most common age group affected is between 6 months to 60 months. Studies showed that there is a variable association between febrile seizures and iron deficiency anaemia [IDA] in children. This study compared various haematological indices with febrile seizures to detect iron deficiency anaemia among children. METHODS This is a comparative observational study. 200 children were recruited, among which 100 children aged between 6 months and 6 years, with febrile seizures, were taken as cases, and another 100 children in similar age group, only with fever and without seizures, were taken as controls. Various blood parameters were analysed between these two groups to detect iron deficiency. RESULTS Haematological parameters like Hb % and serum ferritin were significantly lower, and RDW was significantly increased in cases as compared to controls. This signifies a definite correlation between iron deficiency and febrile seizures. CONCLUSIONS There is a strong association between children with FS and iron deficiency anaemia. This suggests that IDA maybe be a risk factor for FS and all children with FS require iron indices and iron supplementation.