Convulsioni febbrili e crisi convulsive associate a febbre

Objective: the observation, in a pediatric emergency unit, of a patient with seizure and fever is a very frequent event. Therefore it is important a correct diagnosis by means of clinical and laboratory investigations that could permit to distinguish a febrile convulsion (FC) and a convulsion associated with fever (CAF). In fact, CAF may have different origin (cerebral and extracerebral) implicating a worse prognosis if compared with FC. Methods and Results: the study was performed using a retrospective analysis of 363 children were observed, in the pediatric emergency unit of University «La Sapienza» of Rome, from January 1994 to december 1997, because of convulsion during fever. Of the 363 children, 330 were affected by FC and 33 by CAF. Conclusions: meningoencephalitis seems the most important and the most binding pathological condition that, for example, in the age 3-12 months, is represented by the 8% of the observed children. Careful clinical observation of seizure during fever is the key for the correct differential diagnosis, and for the different clinical and laboratory investigations. Another pathological conditions, even if rare (0,3% in the age 3-72 months), is represented by «epilepsy triggered by fever».