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Respiratory Physiology in Children With Febrile Seizures.

NCT01906619 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 100

Last updated 2026-01-02

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Febrile seizures occur in 2-5% of the population and are typically limited to children between 3 months and 5 years-of-age. The pathophysiological link between increased body temperature and increased seizure susceptibility is unsolved in humans. In a mouse model it has been shown that young animals had a tendency to hyperventilate thereby causing intra-cerebral hypocapnia / alkalosis and a decrease of their seizure threshold. This effect was not observed in older animals. Redressing the pCO2 (carbon dioxide partial pressure) by breathing carbon dioxide enriched air instantly stopped the seizures.

In this study the investigators want to investigate the respiratory physiology in children with febrile seizures and compare it to children who have fever but did not have febrile seizures.

The investigators hypothesize that in children with febrile seizures the rising body temperature triggers a larger increase of respiratory rate (hyperventilation) and subsequent drop in pCO2 levels.

This study could provide the basic physiological data for an interventional trial to test the efficacy of carbon dioxide inhalation to interrupt febrile seizures.

Conditions

  • Febrile Illness Acute
  • Seizures, Febrile

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Sana-Klinikum Lichtenberg

    collaborator OTHER

  • Charite University, Berlin, Germany

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Markus Schuelke, MD · Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Eligibility

Min Age
3 Months
Max Age
5 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2011-07-31
Primary Completion
2014-07-31
Completion
2014-12-31

Countries

  • Germany

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01906619 on ClinicalTrials.gov