TABLE 1.
Characteristics of the study groups.
| Controls (n = 61) | Febrile seizures (n = 78) | Epileptic seizures (n = 16) | |
| Males/females | 33/28 | 43/35 | 10/6 |
| Age, months | 29.4 ± 17.8 (6–72) | 24.8 ± 14.5 (6–63) | 53.9 ± 45.8 (9–163)* |
| Body weight, kg | 12.9 ± 4.2 (6.8–27) | 12.1 ± 3.5 (6.0–23.0) | 18.4 ± 13.0 (4.4–56)† |
| History of seizures | NA | 16 (20.5) | 9 (56.3)‡ |
| Temperature at home, °C | 39.6 ± 0.7 (37.7–41.3) | 39.3 ± 0.6 (38.0–41.0) | NA |
| Temperature at ED, °C | 38.3 ± 1.0 (36.0–40.5) | 38.6 ± 0.8 (36.5–40.1) | NA |
| Duration of event, min | NA | 6.5 ± 8.1 (1–40) | 5.1 ± 5.2 (1–20) |
| Time to presentation, min | NA | 107 ± 70.7 (1–330) | 96.2 ± 60.9 (7–240)§ |
| Laboratory data at ED | |||
| Hct, % | 35.6 ± 3.7 (27.3–43.3) | 37.2 ± 4.2 (28.9–56.0) | 38.2 ± 3.3§§(31.8–42.3)§ |
| WBC × 1000/mm3 | 12.4 ± 7.2 (1.9–40.8) | 12.9 ± 7.1 (3.4–34.2) | 8.6 ± 2.7 (5.2–14.7) |
| Na, mmol/L | 136.1 ± 3.2 (129–142) | 135 ± 2.9 (118–141) | 138 ± 2.1 (135–143) |
| Cl, mmol/L | 105 ± 3.2 (98–112) | 105 ± 2.6 (98–112) | 106 ± 2.2 (101–110) |
| pH | 7.37 ± 0.05 (7.20–7.40) | 7.36 ± 0.06 (7.20–7.50) | 7.27 ± 0.07** (7.10–7.30)** |
| CO2, mmHg | 31.6 ± 4.4†† (21–41)†† | 33 ± 5.1 (24–54) | 43.2 ± 10.7 (34–70) |
| Bicarbonate, mmol/L | 21.7 ± 2.6 (13.9–26.1) | 21.6 ± 1.6 (17.5–25.3) | 21.5 ± 2.6 (14.9–25.2) |
| Lactate, mmol/L | 1.5 ± 0.8 (0.9–4.5) | 1.5 ± 0.7 (0.7–4.5) | 1.2 ± 0.5 (0.6–2.2) |
| CRP, mg/dl | 50.5 ± 50.2 (0.3–220)†† | 12.6 ± 18.6 (0.3–91) | 1.3 ± 2.4 (0.3–8.0) |
Data are presented as mean ± SD (range) unless stated otherwise. ∗p = 0.042 vs controls and p = 0.002 vs febrile seizures. †p = 0.043 vs. febrile seizures. ‡p = 0.010 vs febrile seizures. §p = 0.755 vs febrile seizures. §§p = 0.039 vs controls. ¶p = 0.002 vs febrile seizures. ∗∗p < 0.001 vs febrile seizures and controls. ††p < 0.001 vs febrile and epileptic seizures. Between-group comparisons were performed with Mann–Whitney U-test, Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA test (with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons), χ2 test, or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate. ED, emergency department; NA, not available; WBC, white blood cell.