Is There Any Need for Emergency Neuroimaging in Children With first Complex Febrile Seizure?

Objectives: The current study aimed to assess the need for emergency neuroimaging in children with first CFC.

Materials and methods: This is an analytic cross-sectional study conducted on children aged 6-60 months with first CFC. Data were gathered by a form that evaluates age, sex, imaging type, body temperature, and the duration of fever before convulsion, the duration and frequency of convulsion, and family history of FC. Data were analyzed via the Fisher Exact Test in SPSS version 19.

Results: A total of 111 patients participated in this study with first CFC and mean age of 21.18±11.83 months. Regarding the type of CFC, the results showed that the highest and lowest frequencies belonged to multiple and multiple focal prolonged FC, respectively. Upper respiratory infection was the most common diagnosis. Also, 2 nonsignificant abnormal neuroimaging results were noted.

Conclusion: Performing emergency neuroimaging in patients with first CFC was not mandatory in the absence of developmental disorders, abnormal neurologic examination, underlying neurological disorder, and head trauma. This is an important result in our country due to the lack of access to neuroimaging modalities in many hospitals, and the irradiation risk in childhood and its high cost.