Prevalence of Febrile Seizures in School-Aged Children: A Community Based Survey in İzmir, Turkey

Aim:Febrile seizures (FS) are the most common seizures seen in childhood. Although they are usually benign and self-limiting, parents feel great fear and concern about them. The prevalence of FS varies in different parts of the world. These differences are thought to be due to genetic, geographic and environmental factors. However, there has been no recent study about the prevalence of FS among Turkish children. This study was designed to find out the prevalence, clinical and some epidemiological features of FS among Turkish school children.Materials and Methods:A school based, cross-sectional study was conducted in first and second grade children. A stratified cluster sampling technique was used to define the study population, which represents the schools located in the metropolitan area of İzmir. Data were collected through a standard questionnaire from the parents who agreed to be involved in the study. The survey had questions about some demographic features of the children and FS episodes.Results:Three thousand eighty hundred six children and parent pairs agreed to participate in the survey. The FS prevalence determined was 4.8% (boys, 5.2%; girls, 4.3%, p>0.05). It was found that 28.5% of the children experienced their first FS between the ages of 18 months and three years old and most of them had an upper respiratory tract infection. The most common practice by parents during the seizure was admission to the nearest emergency room. The recurrence rate for FS was 33.0%.Conclusions:The FS prevalence determined in our study is lower than previous studies in Turkey. It was thought that the advancing healthcare systems in our country might have decreased the FS prevalence within the last eight years in Izmir

Evaluation of Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Mucopolysaccharidosis

Aim: Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are a group of lysosomal storage disorders caused by the deficiency of spesific lysosomal enzymes required to break down glycosaminoglycans. MPSs should be suspected in a child with coarse facial features, organomegaly, and bone disease (dysostosis multiplex), with central nervous system abnormalities. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve outcomes in MPS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic characteristics and clinical findings of our MPS patients. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study which included 27 MPS patients who were diagnosed and treated in our center. Results: The mean age of the group was 112.3±52.5 months (36-196 months); the mean onset age of symptoms was 40.8±30.6 months (4-112 months), and the mean time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 16.3±21.4 months (0-80 months). MPS subgroups were Type III in 13 (48%) patients, Type II in seven (26%), Type VI in four (15%), Type I in two (7%) patients and Type IV in one patient. Nine (33.3%) patients received enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). The mean duration of ERT was 31.3±21.5 months (9-67 months). Conclusion: MPS Type III was found to be the most common subgroup in our center. We can speculate that the mean time from symptom onset to diagnosis was found too long for MPS in which early diagnosis improves the prognosis. Increasing awareness of the disease in physicians encountering these patients in different clinics will be an important factor in the early diagnosis of the disease