Diseases

Febrile Seizures

Seizures that occur during a febrile episode. It is a common condition, affecting 2-5% of children aged 3 months to five years. An autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance has been identified in some families. The majority are simple febrile seizures (generally defined as generalized onset, single seizures with a duration of less than 30 minutes). Complex febrile seizures are characterized by focal onset, duration greater than 30 minutes, and/or more than one seizure in a 24 hour period. The likelihood of developing epilepsy (i.e., a nonfebrile seizure disorder) following simple febrile seizures is low. Complex febrile seizures are associated with a moderately increased incidence of epilepsy. (From Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, p784)

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

Seizures that occur during a febrile episode. It is a common condition, affecting 2-5% of children aged 3 months to five years. An autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance has been identified in some families. The majority are simple febrile seizures (generally defined as generalized onset, single seizures with a duration of less than 30 minutes). Complex febrile seizures are characterized by focal onset, duration greater than 30 minutes, and/or more than one seizure in a 24 hour period. The likelihood of developing epilepsy (i.e., a nonfebrile seizure disorder) following simple febrile seizures is low. Complex febrile seizures are associated with a moderately increased incidence of epilepsy. (From Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, p784)

MeSH Record

Classification

Broader headings

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MeSH Record

Synonyms

33 entry terms
  • Convulsions, Febrile
  • Febrile Convulsion Seizure
  • Febrile Fit
  • Fever Convulsion
  • Fever Seizure
  • Pyrexial Convulsion
  • Pyrexial Seizure
  • Seizures, Febrile
  • Convulsion, Febrile
  • Convulsion, Fever
  • Convulsion, Pyrexial
  • Convulsions, Fever
  • Convulsions, Pyrexial
  • Febrile Convulsion
  • Febrile Convulsion Seizures
  • Febrile Convulsions
  • Febrile Fits
  • Febrile Seizure
  • Fever Convulsions
  • Fever Seizures
  • Fit, Febrile
  • Fits, Febrile
  • Pyrexial Convulsions
  • Pyrexial Seizures
  • Seizure, Febrile
  • Seizure, Febrile Convulsion
  • Seizure, Fever
  • Seizure, Pyrexial
  • Seizures, Febrile Convulsion
  • Seizures, Fever
  • Seizures, Pyrexial
  • Seizure, Febrile, Complex
  • Seizure, Febrile, Simple

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

35 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemically induced, classification, complications, congenital, diagnosis, diagnostic imaging, diet therapy, drug therapy, economics, embryology, enzymology, epidemiology, ethnology, etiology, genetics, history, immunology, metabolism, microbiology, mortality, nursing, parasitology, pathology, physiopathology, prevention & control, psychology, radiotherapy, rehabilitation, surgery, therapy, urine, veterinary, virology.

MeSH Record

History Note

2000(1977)

MeSH Record

Previous Indexing

  • Convulsions (1966-1976)

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. C10w.597.742w.571w
  2. C23.888w.592.742w.571w

MeSH Record

NLM Classification

WL 340

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Febrile Seizures. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D003294. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D003294
  2. Febrile Seizures. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Febrile_seizure
  3. Febrile Seizures. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127664