Analysis of inflammatory markers and electroencephalogram findings in paediatric patients with COVID-19: a single-centre study in Korea

A big infectious wave overwhelmingly spread from February 2022 in South Korea after the COVID-19 outbreak was managed. Therefore, we analysed electroencephalogram (EEG) findings and serologic inflammatory markers in pediatric patients with COVID-19 by retrospectively reviewing medical records of 41 patients who visited Gyeongsang National University Changwon Hospital from March to May 2022 and were diagnosed with COVID-19; all serologic tests were performed within 24 hours after presenting with fever or seizure. The median patient age and average number of hospitalisation days were 3.6 (0.08–14.00) years and 3.71 (1.0–7.0) days, respectively. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) were elevated above the normal range in all patients (median value, 43.18 [7.0–190.0] pg/ml) and were higher among patients with seizures. Among 41 patients, 17 (41.5%) with a mean age of 5.4 years had higher complaints of seizures. Three patients had prolonged seizures for > 30 minutes and received intravenous lorazepam injections and eight had a complex type of febrile convulsion. Nine patients underwent EEG, and five showed abnormal findings in the initial EEG. In the linear regression model, serum IL-6 and blood lymphocyte counts were correlated with prolonged seizure duration. These findings underscore that several immune cascade-related serologic markers were elevated in children with COVID-19-related febrile seizures. We may assume that COVID-19 presents similarities and differences in the mechanisms that provoke seizures and fever in children.