Role of prophylactic iron supplements in preventing recurrences of simple febrile seizures in infants: A prospective stud

Background: An important risk factor for simple febrile seizures (SFS) could be iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). Though SFS are benign, a history of seizures amongst children in their infancy is often associated with increased chances of recurrence.

Objectives: To gauge the effectiveness of prophylactic iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation in maintaining normal iron status (NIS) and to reduce the recurrences of SFS in children aged 6-12 months over 1 year of follow up.

Method: This study recruited 101 children with SFS. Baseline clinical and laboratory investigations were conducted for all the children. Children with NIS were prescribed biweekly IFA supplementation. Mild, moderate and severe IDA were managed using iron therapy, following which, prophylactic IFA supplementation with biannual deworming was piloted for one year. At the end of one year, serum ferritin levels and complete blood counts were assessed and the frequency of SFS episodes were documented. Data analysis was done using Chi-Square test.

Results: Frequency of IDA in the study was 93.1%. After intervention, 63.4% showed NIS and increased serum ferritin levels. Thus, the iron status improved after supplementing IFA for one year. After one year of IFA supplementation it was noted that 81.2% of children were void of SFS.

Conclusions: Bi-weekly IFA supplementation is adequate for improving the iron status. However, in this study there was no statistically significant reduction in the recurrences of SFS in children

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2021; 50(3): 472-477