| Prophylactic Treatment with Diazepam or Valproate in Children with Recurrent Febrile Seizures. |
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Gu Ken Sun, Su Ya Lee, Eun Young Kim, Kyoung Hee Na, Sun Young Park, Kyoung Sim Kim, Yong Wook Kim |
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Department of Pediatrics, Kwangju Christian Hospital, Gwangju, Korea. eykim_kook@yahoo.com |
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| Abstract |
PURPOSE
We tried to evaluate the effect of prophylactic treatment with short-term intermittent diazepam or long-term continuous valproate in prenventing the recurrence febrile seizures and compare the efficacy of both drugs. METHODS: Eighty six children who were admitted to the Kwangju Christian Hospital from March, 1997 to July, 1999 with more than three febrile seizures and more than one risk factor were enrolled in our study and followed up for one year. Among them, sixteen belonged to an oral diazepam group and twelve to a valproate group while fifty eight to a control group. We investigated the recurrence rate of each group for the period of a year. RESULTS: In the diazepam group, diazepam(0.3 mg/kg/dose) was administered orally every eight hours during the first febrile day and the recurrence rate was 6.2%. The recurrence rate of the valproate group(17 mg/kg/day, bid) was 25%. Those treatments significantly reduced the recurrence rates of febrile convulsions compared to the untreated control group(74.1%), but no significant differences were found between the two treatment groups in the respect of recurrence rates of febrile seizures. CONCLUSION: Both intermittent diazepam and continuous valproate treatment were equally effective in preventing the recurrence of febrile seizures. |
| Key Words:
Prophylactic treatment, Diazepam, Valproate, Recurrence of febrile seizures |
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