The Effectiveness of a Low-dose Oral Diazepam Treatment to Prevent Recurrence of Febrile Seizures / 대한소아신경학회지

PURPOSE: This study was aimed to investigate the optimum dose of diazepam to reduce the recurrence of febrile seizures and side effects in children with febrile seizures. METHODS: The subjects of this study included 528 children with febrile seizures (3 months-5 years of age) who were admitted to Eulji University Hospital (Daejeon, Korea) from January 2008 to December 2011. The children divided into four groups according to the dose of diazepam; Group I, 121 patients, received no diazepam therapy, group II, 129 patients, received oral diazepam in a single dose of 0.1 mg/kg after the febrile seizures, group III, 127 patients, 0.2 mg/kg, and group IV, 151 patients, 0.3 mg/kg, respectively. RESULTS: Seizures recurred in 6 of 129 children (4.7%) in group II, 1of 127 children (0.8%) in group III, and none of 151 children in group IV recurred. For the 121 untreated patients, febrile seizures recurred in 20 (16.5%) children. This study revealed a significant difference in the rate of recurrence of febrile seizures between children treated with diazepam and those who were not. And the recurrence rate was decreased by the increment of the dosage of diazepam, but there was no significant difference between groups. The side effects were observed in 19.9% of children treated with diazepam, 3.9% in group II, 12.6% in group III, and 39.7% in group IV, The rate of side effect was also increased with the increment of the dosage. CONCLUSION: An oral diazepam therapy will reduce the incidence of recurrent febrile seizures during the same febrile illnesses. We think the optimum dose of diazepam is 0.1 mg/kg or 0.2 mg/kg rather than 0.3 mg/kg. However, the use of oral diazepam after a febrile seizure should be carefully considered with weighing the benefits and potential adverse effects.

The Optimum Dose of Oral Diazepam to Reduce Seizure Attack in Febrile Seizure Patients During Febrile Illness

PURPOSE: Febrile seizure is the most common type of seizure affecting 3-4% of children. The recurrence rate of febrile seizure is approximately 33%. About 16% of children with a febrile seizure during the febrile illness have a recurrent seizure attack within 24 hours. This study aimed to investigate the optimum dose of diazepam to reduce the recurrence of febrile seizures in children who have had a febrile seizure attack. METHODS: The children with febrile seizure who were admitted to the Maryknoll hospital for in vestigation and treatment were retrospectively reviewed. The study group compromised 306 children. The febrile seizure was defined as seizure attack with fever(above 38degreeC) without evidence of intracranial infection or defined cause in children aged 6 months to 5 years. The children were divided into four groups according to dose of diazepam. Group I, 72 patients, received no diazepam therapy. Group II, 78 patients, received oral diazepam in a dose of 0.1 mg/kg every eight hours during the febrile illness, Group III, 87 patients, 0.2 mg/kg, and Group IV, 69 patients, 0.3 mg/kg, respectively. RESULTS: The seizure attack rate and the duration of admission were reduced in both Group III and Group IV. However, there was no difference in the side effects of the diazepam between group III and IV. CONCLUSION: Oral diazepam in a dose of 0.2 mg/kg effectively decreases both the seizure attack rate and the duration of admission.