Childhood febrile seizures (Benin City experience)

Abstract

About 20% of children admitted during the study period had febrile convulsions, of which 5% were aged below 5 months or above 5 years. The study confirms the view that there is a strong familial predisposition in febrile seizures. Major causes of the rise in temperature in those studied included malaria, which accounted for 32.7%, followed by bronchopneumonia (16.8%), measles (15.4%), otitis media (13.4%) and tonsillitis (10.5%). The morbidity and mortality could be attributable to the socio-cultural background of the community which practices modes of therapy that are often detrimental to the health of patients.