Ambient Temperature and Seizures
Here is a timely study out of Japan given our recent record-breaking heat wave. They wanted to look at the association between ambient temperature and pediatric seizure occurrence. This was a nation-wide study over a 9-year period.
What did they do? During this 9 year period, over 116,000 pediatric patients <15 years old presented to an emergency room within this system for seizure activity (including status epilepticus, other epileptic seizure, and febrile seizures). They then took the daily mean temperature for each of these days to see if there was an association between extremes of temperature and increased seizure occurrence.
What did they find? They found increased seizure frequency at both extreme high and extreme low temperatures. Relative risk for temps in the 1st percentile (extreme low) was 1.22, and RR for temps in the 99th percentile (extreme high) was 1.17. The authors hypothesize that the risk of seizures during low temperature seasons is more associated with febrile seizures from viral illnesses, whereas they propose higher temperatures cause more dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities leading to more seizure activity in the warmer seasons. They also found seizure episodes may lag up to 1 day after high temperature exposure.
Relevance? They did a LOT of statistics to find this positive association, and other studies they cite haven't made similar conclusions. Take it with a grain of salt, but be mindful of all the potential causes of seizures and talk with patients/families about ways to decrease their chances of coming back with another seizure.
Bottom line: In this study out of Japan, extreme temperatures were associated with increased seizure-related visits. We need to be mindful of potential "triggers" for seizures and educate patients and families about them.
What did they do? During this 9 year period, over 116,000 pediatric patients <15 years old presented to an emergency room within this system for seizure activity (including status epilepticus, other epileptic seizure, and febrile seizures). They then took the daily mean temperature for each of these days to see if there was an association between extremes of temperature and increased seizure occurrence.
What did they find? They found increased seizure frequency at both extreme high and extreme low temperatures. Relative risk for temps in the 1st percentile (extreme low) was 1.22, and RR for temps in the 99th percentile (extreme high) was 1.17. The authors hypothesize that the risk of seizures during low temperature seasons is more associated with febrile seizures from viral illnesses, whereas they propose higher temperatures cause more dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities leading to more seizure activity in the warmer seasons. They also found seizure episodes may lag up to 1 day after high temperature exposure.
Relevance? They did a LOT of statistics to find this positive association, and other studies they cite haven't made similar conclusions. Take it with a grain of salt, but be mindful of all the potential causes of seizures and talk with patients/families about ways to decrease their chances of coming back with another seizure.
Bottom line: In this study out of Japan, extreme temperatures were associated with increased seizure-related visits. We need to be mindful of potential "triggers" for seizures and educate patients and families about them.
