ABSTRACT

Introduction & Objective: One of the major problems of children is a febrile seizure that induces many complications for them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral levetiracetam solution and intermittent oral diazepam tablets in reducing the recurrence of febrile seizures in children aged 6-60 months.

Method: This clinical trial was performed on 46 children aged 6-60 months who referred to the hospital with febrile seizures in the years 2019 and 2020. Children were randomly divided into two groups of oral levetiracetam and oral diazepam and the effectiveness of these medications in reducing the recurrence of febrile seizures was compared between the two groups and the findings were analyzed using statistical software.

Results: The mean age of children was 24.1 months. The duration of seizures, number of seizures, recurrence of seizures, and the mean time interval to the recurrence of seizures were similar in the two groups of oral levetiracetam and oral diazepam, and no significant difference was observed (P> 0.05). Recurrence was observed in 13% of patients in the levetiracetam group and 8.7% in the diazepam group (P = 0.22). The most common type of seizure in patients in both groups was focal seizure (P = 0.07).

Conclusion: Based on the results obtained in the study, it was concluded that the effect of oral levetiracetam and intermittent oral diazepam in reducing the recurrence of febrile seizures in children aged 6-60 months are similar, and therefore, each of these two drugs can be used according to the condition of children and the discretion of the physician.

Keywords: Levetiracetam, Diazepam, Febrile seizures, Pediatrics, Recurrence of seizures