Organic Lesions in the Brain MRI of Children with Febrile Seizure

Abstract

Objective: Seizure is the most common neurological disorders in children, where 4-10% of the cases experience at least one seizure before the age of 16. The most frequent causes of seizures in children are fever, epilepsy, infection and brain damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of organic lesions in MRI of children with seizures unrelated to fever. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included children presented with fever-unrelated seizures. The MRI was examined by a radiologist to identify abnormal findings in each patient. A researcher-made questionnaire including general information, history of head trauma, obstructed labor and the history of seizure was completed for the patients. Results: Of 287 children with fever-related seizure, 127 (45.7%) were male and 151 (54.3%) were female. History of seizure, history of obstructed labor, abnormal MRI, complete delay, use of antiepileptic drug and history of trauma were 22(9.9%), 1 (0.4%), 11(4%), 5(1.8%), 259(93.2%) and 12 (4.3%), respectively. Of 11 patients with abnormal MRI, 4 had MTS lesions, 2 had tumor lesions, 2 had scarring trauma, 1 had an epidural abscess and 1 had meningitis. The frequency of organic lesions had no significant differences based on gender, use of antiepileptic drug and traumatic history, but it had a significant relation with obstructed labor andthehistory of seizure. Conclusion: The results showed that organic brain lesions in children with fever-unrelated seizure had a significant relationship with the history of seizure and obstructed maternal labor.