A study to determine the association between serum ferritin levels and febrile seizures in children

Abstract

Introduction: Febrile seizures are a common paediatric emergency. Recent studies have postulated iron deficiency in the pathogenesis of simple febrile seizures. Objective: To determine the association between serum ferritin levels and simple febrile seizures Method: This study was conducted at the Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, Southern Railway Head Quarters Hospital, Perambur, Chennai. Consecutive cases were selected for the study and concurrent age matched controls were selected from the same setting. Controls were selected from age matched population of children attending the outpatient department for short febrile illness without seizures. Cases and controls were selected in a 1:1 ratio. Data obtained was statistically analyzed with SPSS version 11 software. Results: Serum ferritin (P=0.012), haemoglobin (P=0.042) and haematocrit (P=0.029) were found to be significantly lower in children with febrile seizures than controls.