Fever-associated seizures after vaccination do not affect development, behavior

Date:
July 1, 2020
Source:
American Academy of Neurology
Summary:
Now a new study has found there is no difference in developmental
and behavioral outcomes for children who have febrile seizures
after vaccination, children who have febrile seizures not associated
with vaccination and children who have never had a seizure.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A seizure associated with a fever is called a febrile seizure. Now a new
study has found there is no difference in developmental and behavioral
outcomes for children who have febrile seizures after vaccination,
children who have febrile seizures not associated with vaccination and
children who have never had a seizure. The new study is published in
the July 1, 2020 online issue of Neurology(R), the medical journal of
the American Academy of Neurology. Febrile seizures are also known as
febrile convulsions.


========================================================================== "This is reassuring news for parents," said study author Lucy Deng, MBBS,
of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)
in Sydney, Australia. "A febrile seizure can occur following vaccination
and understandably can be quite distressing to parents. It can also cause parents to lose confidence in future vaccinations. Now, parents will
be relieved to hear that having a febrile seizure following vaccination
does not affect the child's development." The study compared 62 children
who had a fever-associated seizure within two weeks after a vaccination
with 70 children who had a fever-associated seizure from another cause
and 90 children without a history of seizures. All of the children who
had seizures were younger than 2-1/2 years old at the time of the seizure.

The children's cognitive, motor and language functions were tested by
certified developmental assessors who did not know the child's seizure
history. Their behavior was also assessed through questionnaires completed
by their parents.

The children with seizures were tested within one to two years after
the seizure.

The researchers found no differences in development, thinking skills
or behavior between the children who had febrile seizures following a vaccination and those who had febrile seizures at other times or those
who never had a seizure.

"At a time when there is a global resurgence of measles and new diseases
are emerging, our findings are particularly important in reassuring
parents and providers on the safety of vaccines," Deng said.

Deng also pointed out that several other factors were not associated
with having developmental problems: fever-associated seizures before
the age of one; a febrile seizure lasting for more than 15 minutes;
or more fever-associated seizures after the first seizure.

Limitations of the study include a relatively small number of
participants.

Also, further studies should follow children for longer periods of time.

The study was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical
Research Council.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Academy_of_Neurology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Lucy Deng, Nicholas Wood, Kristine Macartney, Michael Gold, Nigel
Crawford, Jim Buttery, Peter Richmond, Belinda Barton. Developmental
outcomes following vaccine-proximate febrile seizures in children.

Neurology, 2020 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009876 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200701162902.htm

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