Infant Seizures and Antibiotic Therapy

It's actually the infection that causes seizures, not the antibiotics.

Since their discovery in the mid-20th century, antibiotics have cured millions of people from otherwise deadly bacterial infections. Many of these infections cause high fevers. The brain is a very delicate organ, and it reacts badly to high fever. Seizures are a common complication in children who are suffering from a high fever. Because children who have seizures are often found to be taking antibiotics to cure their infections, an association is observed between antibiotics and infant seizures.

Seizures

Seizures occur when the electrochemical balance of the brain is affected in any way. As the brain chemistry becomes unbalanced, the electrical transmissions from the brain to the rest of the body go wild, resulting in the uncontrollable movements of the body by someone having a seizure. This imbalance may happen after physical trauma to the head, chemical intoxication, or as the result of a high fever.

Febrile Seizures

According to the National Institutes of Health, one in every 25 children has a febrile seizure. Febrile seizures occur when the fever causes changes to the brain chemistry. Any swelling of the brain due to the fever may also trigger a febrile seizure. While the seizures may be intimidating and difficult to experience as a parent, there is no evidence that infants who suffer febrile seizures suffer any persistent brain damage.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are chemicals produced naturally by certain classes of fungi, or artificially by chemical manipulation. They work to prevent bacterial growth and reproduction by preventing the growth of the bacterial cell wall, blocking the metabolic paths of the bacterial cells, or by preventing the bacteria from producing proteins needed to survive. Antibiotics have saved millions from certain death from bacterial infections, and they remain a valuable tool even in an age of stronger, more resilient bacteria.

Antibiotic Therapy and Seizures

Children who develop fevers are often prescribed an antibiotic either to treat or prevent a bacterial infection. While viral infections are not treated with antibiotics, they can still leave a person susceptible to a secondary bacterial infection. So antibiotics are often given for viral infections, but the infections persist. In either case, if the infection is viral or bacterial, fever ensues, and that one in 25 chance of a febrile seizure is still in play.

Recall Bias

There is a phenomenon called recall bias, in which a person falsely remembers being exposed to something. In the case of seizures and antibiotics, parents of an infant may make an association with antibiotics when their child has a fever, because the child was treated with antibiotics. If the child is not treated, the parents may attribute the seizures to the lack of treatment. All the while, it was the fevers that caused the seizures.

Warning

Only a licensed health care provider may prescribe antibiotics in the United States. Always consult with a provider about the risks and benefits of antibiotic therapy. Only she can explain to you these risks (such as toxicity or allergic reactions) and the benefits (curing or preventing a bacterial infection).

References

• National Institutes of Health: Seizures fact sheet
• Lucille Packard's Children's Hospital at Stanford: Seizures and epilepsy
• Gulf Link: Evaluating recall bias