Etiological Composition Analysis of Infection-Related Febrile Seizures in Children

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the etiological composition of infection-related febrile seizures in children and provide guidance for clinical practice. Methods: A total of 495 children with febrile seizures who were admitted to the pediatric emergency department of Guangzhou Medical University Affiliated Women and Children’s Medical Center (Zhujiang New Town Campus) from May 2024 to December 2024 were included in this study. Pharyngeal swab samples were collected for pathogen detection using PCR. The pathogens tested included Chlamydia pneumoniae , Mycoplasma pneumoniae , respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, bocavirus, rhinovirus, and human metapneumovirus. The pathogens were grouped according to their incidence rates, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed. Multiple comparisons were conducted using the Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) test and the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 422 children tested positive for pathogens. After excluding cases with co-infections involving more than two pathogens, 355 positive cases were included in the study. The pathogens were categorized into three groups based on their incidence rates: the low-infection group (including Chlamydia pneumoniae , Mycoplasma pneumoniae , and respiratory syncytial virus) with 43 cases, the medium-infection group (including enterovirus, influenza virus, and parainfluenza virus) with 107 cases, and the high-infection group (including adenovirus, bocavirus, rhinovirus, and human metapneumovirus) with 205 cases. Analysis of the age distribution of cases in the low-, medium-, and high-infection groups showed statistically significant differences among the groups (P < 0.05). The age distribution of cases in different infection groups also showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). The majority of cases in each infection group were concentrated in the 1- to 6-year-old age range. The medium-infection group had a uniform distribution across different age groups, with no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05). Comparing the two time periods of May to August and September to December, the study found that the number of positive cases for respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, and rhinovirus were 112 and 34, respectively, while the number of positive cases for influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, and adenovirus were 45 and 72, respectively. The differences between the two groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05), indicating that different viruses were prevalent in different seasons. Conclusion: The probability of febrile seizures caused by different viral infections varies. Empirical intervention and treatment can be provided for patients with febrile seizures based on the viruses that are prevalent in different seasons.