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Background: While the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is ongoing, the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been dominant recently. The Omicron variant causes more seizures in pediatric patients compared with previously circulated variants. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical features of febrile seizure (FS) in pediatric patients with COVID-19 during the Omicron era. Methods: The medical records of pediatric patients (≤18 years of age) diagnosed with COVID-19, who presented with FS between February 2020 and June 2022, were reviewed retrospectively to analyze clinical characteristics of FS in seven university-affiliated hospitals of Korea. Results: Of 664 pediatric patients with COVID-19 during the study period, 46 during the pre-Omicron period and 589 during the Omicron period were included in the study analysis; 29 patients during the transition period were excluded. Among the included patients, 81 (12.8%) had concomitant FS, and most (76.5%) experienced simple FS. All FS episodes occurred during the Omicron period and none of them during pre-Omicron period (P=0.016). Sixty-five (80.2%) and 16 (19.8%) patients were categorized as FS (patient age ≤60 months) and late-onset FS (patient age >60 months), respectively. Underlying neurologic disease (P=0.013) and focal onset seizure (P=0.012) were more common in the late-onset FS group than in the FS group; however, overall clinical manifestations and outcomes including seizures consistent with characteristics of complex FS and subsequent epilepsy were similar between the two groups. Conclusions: As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, the incidence of FS has increased with the emergence of the Omicron variant. About one-fifth of the patients experiencing FS due to infection by the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 were aged >60 months; however, clinical characteristics and outcomes were favorable. More information and long-term prognoses in patients with FS due to COVID-19 should be acquired.
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Background: Viral infections of the upper respiratory tract are one of the most common causes of febrile seizures (FSs). During the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mitigation measures have contributed to changes in the incidence of respiratory viral infections. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of respiratory viral infections and clinical characteristics of FSs. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 988 episodes of FS (865 before the pandemic and 123 during the pandemic) between March 2016 and February 2022. Seizure characteristics and their outcomes, along with the distribution of identified respiratory viruses were compared before and during the pandemic. Results: The occurrence of FSs decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to that before the pandemic. A substantial reduction in the incidence of influenza virus infections was observed (P<0.001) during the pandemic, while the incidence of rhinovirus infection was not significantly changed (P=0.811). Interestingly, a significantly high incidence of parainfluenza virus (P=0.001) infections was observed during the pandemic. No statistically significant between-group differences were observed in the clinical presentation and outcomes of FSs before and during the pandemic. Conclusions: Despite epidemiological changes in respiratory viral infections, the clinical characteristics and outcomes of FSs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were comparable.
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Febrile seizure (FS), which occurs in febrile children without underlying health problems, is the most common type of seizure disorder in children. The suggested pathogenesis of FS derived from several animal and human studies is multifactorial and debatable. Neuronal hyperexcitability, which develops during inflammatory responses that accompany fever, provokes seizures. However, the exact role of each inflammatory mediator (e.g., cytokines) is undefined in terms of the connection between systemic or local inflammation and the central nervous system, and the mechanisms by which cytokines increase neuronal excitability remain unclear. In contrast, the cause of fever in most children with FS is usually mild respiratory virus infection (e.g., rhinovirus, influenza virus, adenovirus, and enterovirus) rather than severe bacterial infections. In temperate regions, the major causative respiratory viruses seem to mirror seasonally prevalent respiratory viruses in the community. Therefore, vigorous efforts to identify the causative pathogen of fever may not be necessary in children with FS. Genetic factors seem to play a role in neuronal hyperexcitability, and some types of genetic variation have been identified in several genes encoding ion channels of neurons that participate in neuronal excitation. Although most children with FS have benign outcomes, some characteristics such as complex FS, febrile status epilepticus, consecutive afebrile seizures, and the presence of neurodevelopmental disabilities may require further genetic and neurologic evaluations.
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BACKGROUND: The development of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test promoted the evaluation of the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) type 4, which has been rarely studied using conventional diagnostic methods. This study aimed to determine the seasonal epidemiological and clinical characteristics of all four HPIV serotypes (HPIV-1, HPIV-2, HPIV-3, and HPIV-4) during the era of PCR testing. METHODS: The medical records of hospitalized pediatric patients diagnosed with HPIV infections by a multiplex PCR test between 2015 and 2021 were retrospectively reviewed to determine the seasonal distributions of each HPIV serotype. For patients with a single HPIV infection, the clinical characteristics of each HPIV serotype were evaluated and compared with one another. RESULTS: Among the 514 cases of HPIV infection, HPIV-1, HPIV-2, HPIV-3, and HPIV-4 were identified in 27.2%, 11.9%, 42.6%, and 18.3% of cases, respectively. HPIV-3 was most prevalent in spring, and the other three serotypes were most prevalent in autumn. For patients with a single HPIV infection, those infected by HPIV-1 and HPIV-3 were younger than those infected by HPIV-2 and HPIV-4 (P < 0.001). Croup and lower respiratory tract infection (LRI) were most frequently diagnosed in patients infected by HPIV-1 (P < 0.001) and HPIV-4 (P = 0.002), respectively. During 2020-2021, HPIV-3 was most prevalent in autumn and caused fewer LRIs (P = 0.009) and more seizures (P < 0.001) than during 2015-2019. CONCLUSIONS: Each HPIV serotype exhibited a distinct seasonal predominance, and some differences in the clinical characteristics of the HPIV serotypes were observed. HPIV-4 acted as an important cause of LRI. Considering the recent changes in the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of HPIV-3, more time-series analyses should be conducted.