Febrile Seizures: a narrative review of the current evidence

Febrile Seizures (FS) are the most common childhood seizures that cause intense anxiety and fear in parents. However, it is a benign condition that does not generally cause brain damage. It mainly affects children aged three months to five years, with peak incidence at 18 months of age. To provide a clinical update on the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, evaluation, and management of children with febrile seizures, major databases comprising of PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were searched. The search contents were 'fever' AND 'convulsion', 'febrile seizure' AND 'clinical features', 'febrile seizure' AND 'management'. Both MeSH and regular keyword search strategies were used. Any form of study on FS was included and any study that was not in English or translated into English was excluded. The overall incidence of FS was estimated to be 460/100,000 in the age group of 0-4 years, the majority of which are simple, but approximately 30% will have some complex features. Although associated with a relatively moderate rate of recurrence, only a small minority of patients with FS will subsequently develop epilepsy. Many risk factors have been attributed to either the initial development or recurrence of FS, with some factors identified as risk for developing epilepsy, and these include positive family history, premature birth, developmental delay, brain disorders, and genetic mutations. Conventionally, FS are classified into simple and complex types, and they typically present with fever, body jerking, or twitching. The management basically involves abortion of the seizure event, control of the fever, airway management, and respiratory and circulatory support.