Elevated Serum Uric Acid in Benign Convulsions with Mild Gastroenteritis in Children

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To identify whether serum uric acid levels are significantly higher in patients with benign convulsion associated with mild gastroenteritis (CwG) than in patients with acute gastroenteritis. METHODS: This retrospective study compared the serum levels of uric acid between CwG, acute gastroenteritis, and febrile seizure after correcting for the varying degree of mild dehydration using serum HCO₃- levels. We also compared the serum uric acid levels between patients with CwG and febrile seizures in order to exclude the effect of seizures on uric acid. The serum uric acid level was not elevated in patients with febrile seizure. CONCLUSIONS: We have confirmed that serum uric acid is elevated in CwG patients even after correcting for their dehydration status, and that this was not a postictal phenomenon. Highly elevated serum uric acid in CwG could be a useful clinical indicator of CwG in patients with acute gastroenteritis.