Intermittent oral diazepam prophylaxis in febrile convulsions: its effectiveness for febrile seizure recurrence.

Author(s): Verrotti A, Latini G, di Corcia G, Giannuzzi R, Salladini C, Trotta D, Chiarelli F

Affiliation(s): Section of Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Chieti-Ospedale Policlinico, Via dei Vestini 5, Chieti 66013, Italy. averrott@unich.it

Publication date & source: 2004, Eur J Paediatr Neurol., 8(3):131-4.

Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of diazepam for the reduction in the recurrence of febrile seizures we carried out a prospective study in two groups of children; Group A: 45 children (25 female, 20 male), receiving oral prophylaxis with diazepam, and Group B: 65 children (35 female, 30 male) who did not receive any oral prophylaxis. All subjects of both groups were followed for at least 4 years and finally re-evaluated at the mean age of 6.7+/-1.4 years. Among the patients of Group A, recurrent febrile seizures (FS) occurred in five of the 45 children (11.1%). Among the 65 children of Group B, 20 (30.7%) went on to have one or more additional episodes. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that oral diazepam, given only when fever is present, is an effective means of reducing the risk of recurrences of FS.