Overview
The Febrile Seizure Pattern
A febrile seizure is a seizure in a child aged 6 months to 5 years who has a temperature of at least 38 °C (100.4 °F), provided the seizure is not caused by a central nervous sy...
A febrile seizure is a seizure in a child aged 6 months to 5 years who has a temperature of at least 38 °C (100.4 °F), provided the seizure is not caused by a central nervous system infection. The fever-associated change in neuronal excitability can temporarily push the developing brain past its seizure threshold. That mechanism explains why the event may be dramatic yet brief; it does not, by itself, establish epilepsy. Classification depends on what the seizure looked like, how long it lasted, and whether it recurred: - Simple: generalized movements, duration less than 15 minutes, and only one seizure in a 24-hour period. - Complex: any focal feature, duration of 15 minutes or longer, or more than one seizure in 24 hours. The categories are not interchangeable. A 2-year-old with a 39 °C fever and symmetric jerking for 2 minutes has a simple pattern if there is no evidence of central nervous system infection. A 9-month-old with one-sided movements has a complex feature even if the seizure stops quickly. A seizure lasting 16 minutes is complex even when...