Frequency of Hypocalcemic Seizures in Children with Afebrile Seizure: From 2 months - 2 years in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of hypocalcemic seizures in children with afebrile seizure from age 2 months - 2 years.                                                                                                                                                                                                          Methodology: This Descriptive Cross-Sectional study was conducted in Pediatric Department of Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad for a period of six months (15th April, 2019 to 15th October, 2019). Total 130 cases fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study after approval from ethical committee of hospital and informed consent from the parents of children. A detailed history and examination were done and blood samples for serum calcium level were sent to the hospital laboratory along with other routine investigation to rule out the cause. All data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results: Out of 130 cases 48(36.9%) children had hypocalcemia while 82(63.1%) were normocalcemic. 79 (60.8%) were males and 51 (39.2%) were females. The mean age of children was 13.03 ± 6.81 months. The average calcium level was 8.23±1.51mg/dl. Conclusion: It has been concluded that afebrile seizures occur frequently in children with hypocalcemia. Thus, we got the local evidence regarding this association and recommend to screen all new afebrile seizure cases for hypocalcemia.

Key words: Hypocalcemic fits, children, afebrile seizures, hypocalcemia