When a Child's Fever Turns Into a Nightmare
Watch this 53-second video, and see if you diagnose this case study correctly...
If you guessed febrile seizure, you're correct.
PESI speaker Maria Broadstreet, R.N., MSN, CPNP, has over 20 years of experience working with children. Her son and daughter have both experienced febrile seizures, and while they're typically harmless, they can be alarming and terrifying—even for a mother with years of experience in the health care field. Here's what you need to know...What is a febrile seizure?
Febrile seizure are convulsions brought on by a fever in infants or small children. During a febrile seizure, a child often loses consciousness and shakes, moving their limbs on both sides of the body. These seizures typically last a minute or two, but can be as brief as a few seconds and as long as 15 minutes.
How often do febrile seizures happen?
One in every 25 children will have at least one febrile seizure, typically between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. The older a child is when they experience their first febrile seizure, the less likely that child is to have more.
What are the risk factors for febrile seizures?
Children who are younger than 15 months, have frequent fevers, and have family members with a history of febrile seizures are more likely to experience febrile seizures.
Are febrile seizures harmful?
Most febrile seizures are short and harmless, and there is no evidence that short febrile seizures cause brain damage. There is a small chance that a child may be injured by falling or choking from food or saliva in the mouth.
How is a febrile seizure treated?
There is no treatment for a true febrile seizure. Fever-lowering drugs such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen should be given at the appropriate dosage for the child. If the seizure lasts 10 minutes, the child should be taken immediately to the nearest medical facility. Once the seizure has ended, the child should be taken to his or her doctor to investigate the source of the fever.
Children that are especially prone to febrile seizures may be treated with the drug diazepam, either orally or rectally, whenever they have a fever.
What does the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend?
Clinicians evaluating infants or young children after a simple febrile seizure should direct their attention toward identifying the cause of the child's fever. In general, a simple febrile seizure does not usually require further evaluation, specifically electroencephalography, blood studies, or neuroimaging.
You can learn more about treating pediatric patients from Maria Broadstreet's CE Seminar...
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Laura Davis, DPT (NeuFit Neurological Populations Specialist)
As an athlete growing up, Laura’s original interest in the field grew out of her experience in physical therapy rehabbing her own sports injuries, and always thought that this is the direction she would take with her career. She earned her BS from Pennsylvania State University and her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Washington University of St. Louis, and it is throughout this schooling and clinical work that she found her true passion was actually in helping those with acute and chronic neurological injuries. She has spent most of her career working in trauma ICUs and inpatient and outpatient neurological rehab facilities and thus has been able to help patients along the entire spectrum – from day one of sitting up in bed to months and years later helping patients return to their daily and recreational activities. As NeuFit’s Neurological Population Specialist, she has grown the neuro program both at the NeuFit Headquarters Clinic in Austin and also remotely, writing programs for individuals who have the Neubie at home. She has put the NeuFit Method and Neubie device to practice with hundreds of patients with neurological impairments, from those with traumatic brain injuries, to spinal cord injuries, to MS, to those with rarer diagnoses, and finds it so rewarding to be able to help those with both acute and chronic injuries overcome plateaus and reach functional goals they never thought to be possible. She continues to explore new methods, techniques, and unique applications of the Neubie daily in order to better her patient outcomes and believes the possibilities are endless.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Laura Davis is the founder of Bounce Back Fitness, LLC and has an employment relationship with Neufit. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.
Non-financial: Laura Davis has no relevant financial relationships.
Maria Broadstreet, RN, MSN, APN, has over 26 years of nursing experience and treats critically ill patients as a nurse practitioner at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital (formerly Children’s Memorial Hospital) in Chicago. She came into this role from primary care where she diagnosed and treated kids at the beginning stages of their illness. Throughout her career in pediatrics, Maria has been able to expand her love of teaching, sharing her expertise with an experienced healthcare audience across the country and through clinical instruction with both graduate and undergraduate nursing students.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Maria Broadstreet has an employment relationship with Lurie Children’s Hospital. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Maria Broadstreet is a member of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
