Seizure precipitated by febrile infection

What it means

Any form of seizure occurring at the time of a fever (temperature at or above 38.0 degrees Celcius) without infection of the central nervous system, and without an alternative cause such as severe metabolic derangement, occurring at any age.

Typically febrile seizures are limited to the age range of 3 months to 6 years and not accompanied or preceded by afebrile seizures; in this case febrile seizures are not considered indicative of epilepsy. When febrile seizures occur prior to the age of 3 months, or continue beyond the 6th birthday, or when a person has both febrile seizures and afebrile generalized tonic-clonic seizures then a diagnosis of Febrile Seizures Plus (an epilepsy syndrome) may be made.

Rare diseases that can present with this2

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Fever induced seizure