Association between Iron Deficiency Anemia and Febrile Convulsions in Paediatric Patients: A Prospective Case Control Study

Abstract

Background: Febrile seizure is among the most common convulsion disorders in children, in the first five years of life. It affects about 2% to 5% of all children between 6 to 60 months of age; coinciding with the peak age of incidence of Iron deficiency anemia. Some of the recent studies have reported that iron deficiency could be a risk factor for febrile seizure because febrile seizure is more common in children under two years and iron deficiency anemia is also common in children of the same age. Due to the presence of iron in the hemoglobin structure, it plays a crucial role in the transport of oxygen to different tissues such as the brain. Iron deficiency reduces the metabolism of some neurotransmitters. Aims & Objectives: This study aims to determine the association between iron status and febrile seizures in children aged 6 months to 60 months of age. Material & Methods: In this prospective case-control study, we evaluated 50 children aged 6 to 60months in two 25 persons group. Cases consisted of 25 children with diagnosis of febrile seizures and controls group consisted of 25 children with febrile illness without convulsions, who were admitted at the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and Paediatric wards at Shadan Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad from November 2020 to April 2022. Both groups were reviewed to determine the iron status using Hemoglobin concentration, Mean corpuscular volume, Mean corpuscular hemoglobin, serum ferritin, serum iron, TIBC and serum transferrin to make the diagnosis of Iron deficiency anemia. Results: The 2 groups were compared and no significant difference was found with regards to age, gender and disease causing the febrile illness. Iron deficiency anemia was found in 48% (12 children) of the cases and 20% (5 children) of the controls group. This indicates a statistically significant association between iron deficiency anemia and febrile seizures. Conclusion: Iron deficiency anemia is more frequent among children with febrile seizures than with febrile illness alone.