A major role of viruses in convulsive status epilepticus in children: a prospective study of 22 children

A group of 22 previously healthy children with their first convulsive statu s epilepticus (SE), treated at Kuopio University Hospital, Finland, were pr ospectively studied. Eleven children had febrile and 11 afebrile SE, Polyme rase chain reaction was used to detect specific DNA from CSF, enzyme immuno assays and immunofluorescence assays to detect specific antibodies in serum and CSF, viral cultures were obtained from CSF, throat and stool and antig en detection from throat specimens. Viral infection was identified in 10 of 11 children with febrile SE (91%) and in 7 of 11 with afebrile SE (64%). H uman herpes virus 6 infection was identified in 12 children (55%), and in a t least six of them the infection was primary. Single cases of human herpes virus 7, parainfluenza 3, adenovirus 1, echovirus 22, rota, influenza A an d Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection were diagnosed. Conclusion Viruses, human herpes virus 6 in particular, seem to be major as sociated factors in convulsive status epilepticus, both febrile and afebril e. Human herpes virus 7 and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are novel agents associat ed with status epilepticus.