Central nervous system (CNS)/brain infections are important risk factors for seizures (abnormal electrical activity in the brain). Infections outside the brain that affect large parts of the body as well as drugs used to treat bacterial infections have also been associated with seizures. The severity of infections can be assessed by measuring inflammatory markers in blood, and these markers have been associated with the severity of seizures occurring during fever (febrile seizures) in children. It is, however, not clear whether the severity of infections as measured by these inflammatory markers is also associated with the risk of seizures in older children or in adults. This study aims to assess the risk of seizures in patients with various levels of inflammatory markers. It further aims to investigate the potential role of the patients' age, underlying type, site and treatment of the infection. If such an association would be found and replicated in further studies this could be used in identifying patients at higher risk of seizures.
Using a case-control design, we intend to characterise patients with a first-time recorded seizure between 2007 and 2016 and a matched comparison group of patients without seizures, focusing particularly on inflammatory processes present prior to the seizure. We will assess infections and inflammatory markers focusing on severity and timing of the inflammatory processes. We will classify C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios into quintiles, or into a priori defined categories of low, normal or high levels. Performing conditional logistic regression analysis, we will evaluate whether various categories of inflammation are differentially associated with the risk of seizures. If possible, we will also assess the effect of the patients' age, underlying type, site, and treatment of infection and do subgroup analyses restricted to patients with no major risk factors for seizures.
Seizures
Susan Jick - Chief Investigator - BCDSP - Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program
Cornelia Schneider - Corresponding Applicant - University of Basel
Bojana Vulin - Collaborator - University of Basel
Charlotte Holze - Collaborator - University of Basel
Christoph Meier - Collaborator - University of Basel
Marlene Rauch - Collaborator - University of Basel
Christoph Meier - Collaborator - University of Basel
Marlene Rauch - Collaborator - University of Basel