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Intermittent Treatment of Febrile Convulsions with Nitrazepam

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Michel Vanasse ,
Pierre Masson ,
Guy Geoffroy ,
Albert Larbrisseau  and
Pierre C. David
Michel Vanasse*
Affiliation:
Service de neurologie, département de pédiatrie and the Service de pédiatrie, département de pédiatrie, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal
Pierre Masson
Affiliation:
Service de neurologie, département de pédiatrie and the Service de pédiatrie, département de pédiatrie, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal
Guy Geoffroy
Affiliation:
Service de neurologie, département de pédiatrie and the Service de pédiatrie, département de pédiatrie, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal
Albert Larbrisseau
Affiliation:
Service de neurologie, département de pédiatrie and the Service de pédiatrie, département de pédiatrie, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal
Pierre C. David
Affiliation:
Service de neurologie, département de pédiatrie and the Service de pédiatrie, département de pédiatrie, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal
*
Laboratoire EEG-EMG, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, 3175, Côte Ste-Catherine, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3T 1C5
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Abstract:

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Intermittent oral or rectal administration of diazepam for the prophylactic treatment of febriie convulsions has given results comparable to the continuous use of phenobarbital while limiting side effects and risks of toxicity. Since we believe that nitrazepam is a better anticonvulsant than diazepam, we performed a study to evaluate the effectiveness of this medication in the prophylactic treatment of febrile convulsions. Nitrazepam was given only when the children had fever and almost exclusively in children with a high risk of recurrence (less than 12 months of age at first convulsion; atypical convulsion; one or several previous convulsions). Thirty one children with a high risk of recurrence received nitrazepam. The rate of recurrence in this group was 19.3% after a follow-up of 16 months, compared to 45.8% in 24 children who also had a high risk of recurrence but in whom the parents refused the medication or gave it inadequately (p<0.05). Fifty one children with a low risk of recurrence also were evaluated and followed for at least 12 months (mean 15.4 months). Six were treated with nitrazepam, mostly because of parental anxiety, and none had a recurrence; of the 45 untreated children in this group, 6 (13.6%) had another convulsion. These results show the efficiency of nitrazepam in the prophylactic treatment of febrile convulsions.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , August 1984 , pp. 377 - 379
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1984

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