AbstractBackground: Fever and altered sensorium constitute a medical emergency in children. Early recognition, accurate diagnosis and timely management may help in reducing the morbidity and mortality in acute febrile encephalopathy (AFE).
AIM: To study etiology, clinical presentation and outcome in children presenting with acute febrile encephalopathy.
Methods: This prospective observational cohort study was conducted in a tertiary care center over the duration of one year (2016 to 2017).consecutive patients (age group of one month to 12 years) presenting with fever of ≤ 2 weeks duration and altered mental status were enrolled. The clinical features were noted and patients were followed up through the duration of hospital stay (wards & intensive care unit). Etiology and clinical features were listed as percentage of total cases. Risk factors for mortality were determined using chi-square test.
Results: 120 children were enrolled. Besides fever and altered sensorium, convulsions (70%) and meningeal signs (38.3%) were common clinical features. Tubercular meningitis (33.3%) was the most common cause followed by viral encephalitis (24.2%), bacterial meningitis (9.2%) and cerebral malaria (5.8%). Mortality was 16.7% with neuro-morbidity seen in 45% of the cases. Longer duration of hospital stay (≥ 28 days), longer duration of PICU stay (> 14 days), longer duration of mechanical ventilation (≥ 7 days) and low Glasgow coma score (GCS< 8) were risk factors associated with higher mortality.
Conclusion: Infectious causes were the commonest cause of AFE. AFE has a high rate of neuro-morbidity. Early identification of high risk factors may help to reduce the mortality.
Author Information Pack
Editorial Board 
Submit article
Editor's selection process
Most popular articles
Archive
Accepted Articles
Search Articles
Email Alerts
FAQ
Contact Us