Frequency of Febrile Seizures in COVID-19 Children in Akbar Children’s Hospital

Background: Considering the increased incidence of Febrile Seizures (FS) after omicron emergence, this study aimed to evaluate the frequency of FS in COVID-19 children, under 14 years of age, in Akbar Children’s Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. This study also compared the characteristics of FS children with and without COVID-19.Methods: All patients under 14 years of age, who were hospitalized and diagnosed with COVID-19 in Akbar hospital, from March 2020 to 2022, were included in this study. The incidence of FS was determined in this group. Also, all patients who were diagnosed with FS, tested negative for COVID-19, and had no underlying diseases were included in the control group. Hospital Information System (HIS) was used to extract the desired information.Result: Out of 220 COVID-19 children studied, eight (3.60%) had febrile seizures, of whom 50% were male, and 50% were female, and their average age was 13.9±6.96 months. Also, 62.5% had simple FS, and 37.5% had complex FS. Among them, 12.5% had leukopenia, 12.5% had lymphopenia, 62.5% had pneumonia symptoms, 50% had fever, 37.5% had tachycardia, and 25% had tachycardia symptoms. The average age of COVID-19 patients with FS was significantly lower than that of the patients with either COVID-19 or FS (p=0.01). Complex FS was significantly more prevalent in patients with COVID-19 than in patients without COVID-19 (p=0.01).Conclusion: The frequency of COVID-19-associated FS increased during the omicron period. There are several potential mechanisms through which febrile seizures could occur. Considering that there are still many unknowns in this field, it is necessary to conduct more studies.