Children Experiencing First-Time or Prolonged Febrile Seizure Are Prone to Stress Hyperglycemia

The risk factors and clinical implications of stress hyperglycemia in children with febrile seizure remain uncertain. Among 479 children with febrile seizure, the prevalence of the stress hyperglycemia (blood glucose concentration 150 mg/dL) was 10.0%. Stress hyperglycemia group included larger proportion of first-time febrile seizure, prolonged febrile seizure, and smaller proportion of short febrile seizure in comparison with the non-stress hyperglycemia group. Stress hyperglycemia group demonstrated a lower pH and higher lactate levels than the non-stress hyperglycemia group. Multivariate analysis revealed that first-time febrile seizure (aOR = 3.741, P = .004) and prolonged febrile seizure (aOR = 12.855, P < .001) were significant risk factors for stress hyperglycemia. The rate of early febrile seizure recurrence in the emergency department was not different between the groups. These findings suggest that children experiencing first-time or prolonged febrile seizure are prone to stress hyperglycemia, and this can be related to febrile seizure severity. However, stress hyperglycemia is not predictive of early febrile seizure recurrence in the emergency department.