Association of Child Neurology (AOCN) Consensus Statement on the Diagnosis and Management of Febrile Seizures

ABSTRACT

Justification Febrile seizures are quite common in children but there are controversies in many aspects of their diagnosis and management. Methods: An expert group consisting of pediatric neurologists and pediatricians was constituted. The modified Delphi method was used to develop consensus on the issues of definitions and investigations. The writing group members reviewed the literature and identified the contentious issues under these subheadings. The questions were framed, pruned, and discussed among the writing group members. The final questions were circulated to all experts during the first round of Delphi consensus. The results of the first round were considered to have arrived at a consensus if more than 75% experts agreed. Contentious issues that reached a 50- 75% agreement was discussed further in online meetings and subsequently voting was done over an online platform to arrive at a consensus. Three rounds of Delphi were conducted to arrive at final statements. Results: The expert group arrived at a consensus on 52 statements. These statements pertain to definitions of febrile seizures, role of blood investigations, urine investigations, neuroimaging, electroencephalography (EEG), cerebrospinal fluid analysis and screening for micronutrient deficiency. In addition, role of rescue medications, intermittent anti-seizure medication and continuous prophylaxis, antipyretic medication and micronutrient supplementation have been covered. Conclusion: This consensus statement addresses various contentious issues pertaining to the diagnosis and management of febrile seizures. Adoption of these statements in office practice will improve and standardize the care of children with this disorder.