0118
Dey P R1, Mollah
M A H1, Tarafder S A2, Aktar S2,
Hassan T1, Begum N A1, Nahar N1 1.
Dhaka
Medical College Hospital 2.
Atomic Energy
Commission, Dhaka, Bangladesh Objectives: To
see the status of Zinc in CSF of children with febrile convulsion and to
compare this with that of control. Methods: Place of study : Department of
Paediatrics, Dhaka Medical College Hospital : Atomic Energy Commission,
Dhaka, Bangladesh Period of study: From July 1999 to December 1999 Type of study : Prospective case
control study Sample size : 72 ( Case: 42 , Control: 30) Age & Sex : 06 months to
6 years and of both sex Working Definition: Febrile convulsion:
Fever with single generalized convulsion persisting less than 15 minutes
without features of intracranial infection. Inclusion criteria of
study cases: Children with febrile convulsion Inclusion criteria of
control cases: Febrile children without convulsion Exclusion criteria:
Cases beyond the specified age range, who had clinical and CSF features of
CNS infection and who were taking zinc for therapeutic purposes. After clinical
evaluation, CSF was collected in a specially prepared zinc free plastic
container. Zinc level was estimated by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry
method. Statistical analyses of the results were done by SPSS+ (version
7.5) and Mann Whiteney U-test. Results: The mean zinc level in
CSF in the study samples was 40.19
microgram /L and that in control
samples was 74.98 microgram/L. The difference was statistically
significant ( p<0.001). No
relationship was found between CSF zinc status with age, sex, degree &
duration of fever. Conclusion: The study shows a close
relation between low levels of zinc in CSF and febrile convulsion. Further
interventional studies are required to confirm the result of low zinc in
CSF in febrile convulsion.
STUDY OF ZINC IN CSF OF
PATIENTS WITH FEBRILE CONVULSION