Febrile seizure

Febrile seizures are usually self-limiting; an increased risk of developing epilepsy is low except in a small number of cases.

Most febrile seizures resolve spontaneously and quickly, and do not require acute or long-term anticonvulsant treatment.

A febrile seizure is defined as an event in infancy or childhood, usually occurring between 3 months and 5 years of age, associated with fever but without evidence of intracranial infection or defined cause. Seizures with fever in children who have experienced a previous non-febrile seizure are excluded. Febrile seizures should be distinguished from epilepsy, which is characterised by recurrent non-febrile seizures. [1] Millichap JG. The definition of febrile seizures. In: Nelson KB, Ellenberg JH, eds. Febrile seizures. New York, NY: Raven Press; 1981. The first occurrence is usually before 3 years of age, but is infrequent in children younger than 6 months; the peak incidence is between 12 and 24 months. [2] Millichap JG, Madsen JA, Aledort LM. Studies in febrile seizures V: a clinical and electroencephalographic study in unselected patients. Neurology. 1960 Jul;10:643-53. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14422602?tool=bestpractice.com

The 2006 report by the International League Against Epilepsy Task Force on Classification and Terminology of Epilepsy and Epileptic Syndromes proposed a change in terminology and the omission of the words 'convulsion' and 'convulsive'. They suggested that the term 'febrile convulsions' be replaced by 'febrile seizures'. [3] Fisher RS, Cross JH, French JA, et al. Operational classification of seizure types by the International League Against Epilepsy: position paper of the ILAE Commission for Classification and Terminology. Epilepsia. 2017 Apr;58(4):522-30. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/epi.13670/full http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28276060?tool=bestpractice.com [4] Lennox WG, Lennox MA. Epilepsy and related disorders. Volume 1. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co.; 1960.  Further changes in 2017 included replacing the term 'benign' with 'self-limiting'.