Correlation of serum ferritin levels and RBC indices in children with febrile seizures

Background: Febrile seizures are the most common seizures that occur in 2 to 5% of neurologically healthy children in the age group of 6 – 60 months. There is an increased risk of febrile seizures in Children with iron deficiency anaemia. Iron deficiency anaemia is also associated with impaired neurocognitive functions. Our study compares the haematological parameters in children with febrile seizures. Methods: The study is a prospective study conducted in a tertiary care hospital. Children admitted with first episode of febrile seizures in the age group of 660 months were included in study group. Total of 50 children were enrolled in the study. Duration of study was one year. Haemoglobin levels, Red Blood Cell indices and serum ferritin were studied among the children and statistically analysed. Results: The study showed that haemoglobin levels, RBC indices particularly Mean Corpuscular Volume( MCV) was low in 100% and Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) was increased in 96% of children with low ferritin levels depicting iron deficiency anaemia, which in turn is a risk factor for febrile seizures. Conclusion: The study concluded that among the RBC indices, RDW and MCV values well correlated with serum ferritin levels in detecting iron deficiency anaemia in children with first episode of febrile seizures.