Perinatal Antiretroviral Exposure Linked to Early Febrile Seizures -- HIV/AIDS INFO AND UPDATES

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Date Posted: 22:14:11 02/28/02 Thu
Author: Anonymous
Subject: Perinatal Antiretroviral Exposure Linked to Early Febrile Seizures

Perinatal Antiretroviral Exposure Linked to Early Febrile Seizures

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 15 - Children perinatally exposed to antiretroviral agents are significantly more likely to experience early febrile seizures than unexposed children, according to a report published in the February 16th issue of The Lancet.

Antiretroviral prophylaxis is a well-established method of preventing vertical HIV transmission. However, a recent report suggests that such treatment may cause mitochondrial dysfunction leading to neurologic symptoms in exposed children.

Dr. Stephane Blanche, from Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades in Paris, and colleagues assessed the early neurologic outcomes of 4426 children born to HIV-infected mothers. The group included 4072 HIV-negative children and 354 children with an undetermined HIV status. Regarding perinatal antiretroviral exposure, 1748 children were unexposed, 2644 were exposed, and in 34 treatment information was unavailable.

Exposed children were at greater risk for simple febrile seizures than were unexposed children (p = 0.0198). Antiretroviral exposure was also linked to a greater risk for other seizures, but the association was not statistically significant. Finally, antiretroviral exposure had no bearing on the development of neonatal seizures.

"The long-term consequences of these early febrile seizures, if confirmed, are unknown and not necessarily deleterious," the investigators point out. "However, these findings prompt careful monitoring of the cognitive and behavioral development of the children concerned."

Lancet 2002;359:583-584.

Reuters Health Information 2002. � 2002 Reuters Ltd
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