Risk of recurrent seizures after a primary human... : The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (original) (raw)

Original Studies

Risk of recurrent seizures after a primary human herpesvirus 6-induced febrile seizure

JEE, SANDRA H. BA; LONG, CHRISTINE E. MPH; SCHNABEL, KENNETH C. MBA; SEHGAL, NEERU MD; EPSTEIN, LEON G. MD; HALL, CAROLINE BREESE MD

From the Departments of Pediatrics (SHJ, KCS, LGE, CBH), Medicine (CEL, CBH), Microbiology and Immunology (LGE) and Neurology (NS, LGE), University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY.

Accepted for publication Oct. 10, 1997.

Reprints not available.

Abstract

Objective.

To test the hypothesis that children experiencing first febrile seizures caused by human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) have an increased risk for recurrent seizures when compared with children experiencing first febrile seizures attributed to other illnesses.

Design and participants.

Descriptive prospective study of 36 HHV-6 culture-positive children and a matched subgroup of 86 HHV-6 culture-negative children, all of whom had their first febrile seizures evaluated in a tertiary care emergency department and were followed for at least 12 months, with an average follow-up of 35.7 months.

Primary outcome measure.

The recurrence of seizures among HHV-6 culture-positive and HHV-6 culture-negative children with no known previous neurologic deficits.

Results.

A decreased incidence of recurrent seizures occurred in children whose first febrile seizures were caused by HHV-6. Twenty percent of HHV-6 culture-positive children and 40% of HHV-6 culture-negative children (P < 0.038) experienced a recurrent seizure within 1 year of their first febrile seizure. The mean time to recurrence within 12 months was 8.6 months for children with HHV-6 infection and 3.8 months (P < 0.001) for children without HHV-6 infection. Most recurrent seizures occurred within 12 months of a first febrile seizure for both HHV-6-positive and HHV-6-negative children (88 and 91%).

Conclusions.

Children who had their first febrile seizures caused by primary HHV-6 infection did not demonstrate an increased risk for recurrent seizures when compared with children whose first febrile seizures were from other etiologies.