Comparative study on the efficacy and safety of low-dose sodium valproate vs. diazepam in the prevention and treatment of pediatric febrile convulsion

BACKGROUND: Febrile convulsion has a serious impact on the health and development of children. Diazepam treatment for febrile convulsion has many adverse reactions, which have a negative impact on the therapeutic effect. Therefore, the present study examined the efficacy and safety of low-dose sodium valproate on the treatment of pediatric patients with febrile convulsion. METHODS: From August 2016 to August 2019, a total of 110 children who suffered recurrent febrile convulsions were selected for the present study. These children were randomly divided into the observation group and the control group, with 55 children in each group. The control group was given low-dose diazepam therapy, while the observation group received low-dose sodium valproate. The therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The observation group had a significantly lower effective rate (94.55%) than the control group (74.55%, P<0.05) and significantly shorter antispasmodic time and fever clearance time (11.60±2.08 min and 11.39±1.81 h, respectively) than the control group (16.07±2.89 min and 17.09±3.12 h) (P<0.05). Six months after treatment, the observation group had higher scores on cognitive development indices than the control group, including gross motor skills, language, adaptability, fine motor skills, and social interaction (P<0.05). In addition, the observation group had a significantly lower incidence of adverse reactions and recurrence rate (5.45% and 3.64%, respectively) than the control group (20.00% and 18.18%) (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In the prevention and treatment of pediatric febrile convulsions, low-dose sodium valproate can rapidly relieve the clinical symptoms of children. In addition, this medication exhibits a high safety profile and significantly improves the cognitive ability of the patients. Low-dose sodium valproate has a definite therapeutic effect. Therefore, treatment with low-dose sodium valproate is worth promoting.