It had been unknown how long the risk of unprovoked seizure after febrile seizure persisted, or if semiology (e.g., focal features) was prognostic. Groups had found the risk of subsequent unprovoked seizure as low as 2.5% after simple febrile seizures and as high as 17% after complex febrile seizures.¹ This study was the first to follow patients into adulthood, and examine independent risk factors for future unprovoked seizures.

To determine features associated with risk of future unprovoked seizures in children with a prior febrile seizure.

Population-based, prospective cohort study using data from a single US city from 1935 to 1979.