"Simple febrile seizures plus (SFS+)": more than one febrile seizure within 24 hours is usually okay.

This study aimed to investigate whether children with recurrent febrile seizures within a 24-hour period need to be worked up differently from children with simple febrile seizures. Inclusion criteria included the following: (i) children with first seizure cluster between 4 months and 3 years of age, (ii) children who had more than one febrile seizure within 24 hours, and (iii) children who returned to baseline between and after each event. Thirty-two patients met the inclusion criteria over a 3-year period. All patients underwent brain CT and/or MRI and EEG. All head CTs were normal. Two children had abnormal MRI findings - both benign: one is thought to represent postictal changes, and the other one is an incidental arachnoid cyst. Of the 4 abnormal EEGs, one showed epileptiform discharges, while the others showed generalized ictal or postictal features. We propose the term "simple febrile seizures plus (SFS+)" to describe children who have more than one seizure within 24 hours but who are otherwise not different in presentation from children with SFS.