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Febrile seizure

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  • Overview
  • Theory
  • Diagnosis
  • Management
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Last reviewed: 14 Jan 2026
Last updated: 10 Dec 2024

Summary

Definition

Anamnesis y examen

Principales factores de diagnóstico

  • febrile illness
  • seizure
Todos los datos

Otros factores de diagnóstico

  • normal postictal exam
Todos los datos

Factores de riesgo

  • temperature elevation
  • young age
  • male sex
  • family history of febrile seizures
  • viral or bacterial infection outside the central nervous system
  • vaccinations
  • prenatal exposure to nicotine
  • iron deficiency
  • complications of pregnancy, labor, and delivery
Todos los datos

Pruebas diagnósticas

Primeras pruebas diagnósticas para solicitar

  • diagnosis is clinical
Todos los datos

Tests to avoid

  • head CT
Todos los datos

Pruebas diagnósticas que deben considerarse

  • lumbar puncture
  • viral studies
  • blood culture
  • EEG
  • brain MRI
  • serum sodium
  • CBC
  • capillary blood glucose
  • serum glucose
  • iron studies
Todos los datos

Algoritmo de tratamiento

Inicial

febrile status epilepticus

Agudo

first simple febrile seizure

first complex seizure

En curso

febrile illness with prior history of simple seizure or 1 complex seizure

history of 2 or more complex febrile seizures with ineffective diazepam treatment

Colaboradores

Autores

Damian Roland, BMedSci, MBBS, FRCPCH, PhD

Honorary Professor and Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine

Paediatric Emergency Medicine Leicester Academic (PEMLA) Group

Children’s Emergency Department

Leicester Royal Infirmary

Leicester

UK

Divulgaciones

DR declares that he is a previous member of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Feverish Illness in Children Guideline Group.

Agradecimientos

Prof Damian Roland would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr Leena Mewasingh, Dr Frances Morrison, Dr John J. Millichap and Dr J. Gordon Millichap, previous contributors to this topic. LM has received funding from drug companies (e.g., Eisai) to attend medical conferences and been invited to an educational symposium (Novartis, LivaNova). FM declares that she has no competing interests. JJM serves as an Associate Editor of Neurology and serves on the editorial board of Pediatric Neurology Briefs; volunteers on the medical advisory board of The Jack Pribaz Foundation (KCNQ2.org); received speaker honoraria from Invitae; received royalties for online monographs from Up-To-Date; served on the scientific advisory board for Mallinckrodt; is principal investigator for a clinical trial funded by UCB Pharma; and is the principal investigator for research grants from Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy and the Thrasher Research Fund. JJM is an author of a number of references cited in this topic. JGM is an author of a number of references cited in this topic.

Revisores por pares

Robert S. Rust, Jr., MA, MD

Professor

Department of Neurology

University of Virginia Health System

Charlottesville

VA

Divulgaciones

RSR declares that he has no competing interests.

Agradecimiento de los revisores por pares

Los temas de BMJ Best Practice se actualizan de forma continua de acuerdo con los desarrollos en la evidencia y en las guías. Los revisores por pares listados aquí han revisado el contenido al menos una vez durante la historia del tema.

Divulgaciones

Las afiliaciones y divulgaciones de los revisores por pares se refieren al momento de la revisión.

Referencias

Nuestros equipos internos de evidencia y editoriales colaboran con colaboradores expertos internacionales y revisores pares para garantizar que brindemos acceso a la información más clínicamente relevante posible.

Artículos principales

American Academy of Pediatrics: Subcommittee on Febrile Seizures. Clinical practice guideline: neurodiagnostic evaluation of the child with a simple febrile seizure. Pediatrics. 2011 Feb;127(2):389-94.Texto completo  Resumen

American Academy of Pediatrics. Febrile seizures: clinical practice guideline for the long-term management of the child with simple febrile seizures. Pediatrics. 2008 Jun;121(6):1281-6.Texto completo  Resumen

Millichap JG, Millichap JJ. Role of viral infections in the etiology of febrile seizures. Pediatr Neurol. 2006 Sep;35(3):165-72. Resumen

Fetveit A. Assessment of febrile seizures in children. Eur J Pediatr. 2008 Jan;167(1):17-27. Resumen

Graves RC, Oehler K, Tingle LE. Febrile seizures: risks, evaluation, and prognosis. Am Fam Physician. 2012 Jan 15;85(2):149-53.Texto completo  Resumen

Capovilla G, Mastrangelo M, Romeo A, et al. Recommendations for the management of "febrile seizures": Ad Hoc Task Force of LICE Guidelines Commission. Epilepsia. 2009 Jan; 50(1 suppl):S2-6.Texto completo  Resumen

Natsume J, Hamano SI, Iyoda K, et al. New guidelines for management of febrile seizures in Japan. Brain Dev. 2017 Jan;39(1):2-9. Resumen

Nordli DR Jr. Idiopathic generalized epilepsies recognized by the International League Against Epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2005 Nov 18;46(9 suppl):48-56.Texto completo  Resumen

Wilmshurst JM, Gaillard WD, Vinayan KP, et al. Summary of recommendations for the management of infantile seizures: task force report for the ILAE Commission of Pediatrics. Epilepsia. 2015 Aug;56(8):1185-97.Texto completo  Resumen

Dunlop S, Taitz J. Retrospective review of the management of simple febrile convulsions at a tertiary paediatric institution. J Paediatr Child Health. 2005 Dec;41(12):647-51. Resumen

Kimia AA, Bachur RG, Torres A, et al. Febrile seizures: emergency medicine perspective. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2015 Jun;27(3):292-7. Resumen

Rosenbloom E, Finkelstein Y, Adams-Webber T, et al. Do antipyretics prevent the recurrence of febrile seizures in children? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2013 Nov;17(6):585-8. Resumen

Offringa M, Newton R, Nevitt SJ, et al. Prophylactic drug management for febrile seizures in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Jun 16;(6):CD003031.Texto completo  Resumen

Baumann RJ, Duffner PK; American Academy of Pediatrics. Treatment of children with simple febrile seizures: the AAP practice parameter. Pediatr Neurol. 2000 Jul;23(1):11-7. Resumen

Whelan H, Harmelink M, Chou E, et al. Complex febrile seizures: a systematic review. Dis Mon. 2017 Jan;63(1):5-23.Texto completo  Resumen

Shinnar S, Glauser TA. Febrile seizures. J Child Neurol. 2002 Jan;17(1 suppl):S44-52. Resumen

Camfield P, Camfield C. Febrile seizures and genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+). Epileptic Disord. 2015 Jun;17(2):124-33. Resumen

Artículos de referencia

Una lista completa de las fuentes a las que se hace referencia en este tema está disponible para los usuarios con acceso a todo BMJ Best Practice.

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