THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA AND SIMPLE FEBRILE SEIZURE

Dr. Sandra Abboud*

ABSTRACT

Background: Simple febrile seizure is the most common neurologic disease in pediatrics. There are hypotheses suppose that iron deficiency may affect febrile convulsion and the threshold of neuron excitation. Objective: The aim of the study was to understand the relationship between iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and simple febrile seizure (SFS) in children aged between 6 months to 5 years. Patients and Methods: This analytic, case–control study was conducted on 100 children aged from 6 months to 5 years who attended the Emergency Department of Tishreen University Hospital during the period from Mai 2023 to Mai 2024. The children were categorized into two groups: case and control groups. Each group contains 50 patients. Hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume(MCV), mean corpuscular Hb(MCH), mean corpuscular Hb concentration(MCHC), Red cell distribution width (RDW), serum iron(SI), serum ferritin(SF), were assessed for the two groups. Results: A total of (64%) children in the case group had IDA compared with (28%) in the control group, which was statistically significant (P:0.0001). Conclusions: Iron deficiency anemia is an important risk factor which predispose children to develop simple febrile seizure. Evaluation of iron status is encouraged to be performed in children with SFS.

Keywords: anemia, simple febrile, iron, seizures.