SERUM CALCIUM LEVEL IN CHILDREN WITH FEBRILE CONVULSIONS

Abstract

Introduction- In children the most common forms of convulsion are febrile seizures. Water electrolyte imbalance occurs during acute febrile illness and hypocalcaemia is one of them. Hypocalcaemia is also present in cases of seizures. To find out significance of calcium levels in cases of seizures this study was conducted.

Methods: Case control prospective analytical study conducted in department of Pediatrics, RVRS Medical College, Bhilwara. The serum calcium level was estimated by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) according to the method of Zettner and Seligs.

Results: Mean ionized calcium level was 4.52±0.24 mg/dl and 4.01±0.16 mg/dl in control and cases groups respectively and this difference was found statistically highly significant (p<0.001).

Conclusion- The findings suggest that a considerable percentage of children having febrile seizures are suffering from low level of calcium.

Keywords: Hypocalcemia, serum calcium, febrile seizures