Do Febrile Seizures Influence Neurodevelopment?

Objective: Families are often concerned that febrileseizures may have negative effects on theneurodevelopment of their children. The aim of ourstudy was to demonstrate the effects of febrile seizure onthe neurodevelopment in children using the DenverDevelopmental Screening Test II (DDST).Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional andprospective study included 28 patients hospitalized forfebrile seizures during a six-month period. The children'sage, sex, number of seizures, number of recurrences, andfamily history of seizure were recorded. The DDST wasperformed at admission (1st DDST) and one year later(2nd DDST). The results were evaluated in threecategories as ‘normal,’ ‘suspicious,’ and ‘abnormal.’Results: The 1st DDSTs were found as normal,suspicious, and abnormal at the rates of 53.6%, 39.3%,and 7.1%, respectively. The 2nd DDST’s were normal,suspicious, and abnormal at the rates of 67.9%, 28.6%,and 3.6%, respectively. Fourteen of the 15 found asnormal were normal, but 1 was suspicious. Six of the 11found as suspicious remained suspicious, 4 were normal,and 1 was abnormal. One of the 2 patients found asabnormal was normal, the other was suspicious. Therewere no significant differences between the scores of the1st and 2nd DDSTs (p=0.423).Conclusion: We found that febrile seizures were notassociated with neurodevelopmental delay when using theDDST II. According to the results of this study, it maybe possible to reassure parents about the normalneurodevelopment expectations for their children despitehaving febrile seizures.