Occurrence of a prolonged nonepileptic motor status after a febrile seizure

Purpose: Febrile seizures are very common events in the pediatric population, and this disorder could be inherited. A previous article on nonepileptic status after a febrile seizure was published by Japanese authors. They described convulsive manifestations after a febrile seizure with an EEG counterpart characterized by delta activity and rhythmic theta discharges. We report two cases of nonepileptic prolonged motor status occurring after a simple febrile seizure, erroneously diagnosed as an epileptic status. Methods: An EEG was obtained during the episode in both of the children; for one of them, we performed a video-EEG recording. Results: In both children, this state was characterized by tonic, vibratory posture, and fluctuation of consciousness. The face was not involved, eyes were closed, and the children were not cyanotic. Ictal EEG showed alternating and mixed theta-delta activity. This activity appeared to be rhythmic in some periods. Clinical and EEG features did not change after administration of benzodiazepine. Conclusions: We believe this uncommon condition to be a nonepileptic phenomenon, occurring after a simple febrile seizure, with favorable prognosis.