Benign Febrile Convulsion Also known as Febrile seizures are convulsions of sudden onset due to abnormal

electrical activity in the brain that is caused by fever. Fever is a condition in which body temperature is elevated above normal (generally above 100.4F [38C]).

Types BFC 1. Simple Febrile Convulsion Core temperature that increases rapidly to > 39 C. febrile seizure accounts for 70 to 75

percent of febrile seizures and is one in which the affected child is age six months to five years and has no history or evidence of neurological abnormalities, the seizure is generalized (affects multiple parts of the brain), and lasts less than 15 minutes, and the fever is not caused by brain illness such as meningitis or encephalitis. 2. Complex Febrile Convulsion y y y Temperature greater than or equal to 39 C Duration is 15 mins. Repeated convulsions occurs within 24 hours or when focal seizure activity or focal findings are present during the postictal period.

Causes A seizure occurs when the normal electrical patterns of the brain become disrupted. A febrile seizure is caused by fever, most commonly a high fever that has risen quickly. The average fever temperature in which febrile seizures take place is 104F (40C). Conversely, a healthy person's body temperature fluctuates between 97F (36.1C) and 100F (37.8C). Fevers are caused in most cases by viral or bacterial infections, such as otitis media (ear infection), upper respiratory infection, pharyngitis (throat infection), pneumonia, chickenpox, and urinary tract infection. Other conditions can induce a fever, including allergic reactions, ingestion of toxins, teething, autoimmune disease, trauma, cancer, excessive sun exposure, or certain drugs. Clinical Manifestation Febrile seizures generally last between one and ten minutes. A child experiencing a febrile seizure may exhibit some or all of the following behaviors:
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stiff body twitching or jerking of the extremities or face rolled-back eyes unconsciousness inability to talk problems breathing involuntary urination or defecation vomiting confusion, sleepiness, or irritability after the seizure

Risk factors
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family history of febrile seizures young age of the child (i.e. less than 18 months of age) seizure occurs soon after or with onset of fever seizure-associated fever is relatively low

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Diagnostics In the case of children under 18 months of age, a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) may be recommended to rule out meningitis because symptoms are often lacking or subtle in children of that age. Because of the benign nature of the simple febrile seizure, tests such as computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or electroencephalogram (EEG) are not usually recommended.

Prognosis The risk of complications associated with febrile seizures is very low. Some of the complications that may occur are:
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biting the tongue choking on items that were in the mouth at the start of the seizure injury from falling down aspirating fluid or vomit into the lungs developing recurrent febrile seizures developing recurrent seizures unrelated to fever (epilepsy) complications related the underlying cause of the fever