Risk Factors of Convulsions in Children With Rotavirus Gastroenteritis and Construction of a Nomogram Prediction Model

Pediatr Emerg Care. 2024 Feb 28. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000003136. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to investigate and analyze the risk factors of convulsions in children with rotavirus gastroenteritis and to construct a nomogram prediction model.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 940 cases of pediatric patients with rotavirus gastroenteritis treated in our hospital from December 2017 to December 2022. Based on whether convulsions occurred during hospitalization, patients were divided into the convulsion group (n = 135) and the convulsion-free group (n = 805). Clinical information of patients in both groups was collected, logistic regression analysis was carried out to analyze the convulsion risk factors pertaining to children with rotavirus gastroenteritis, and a nomogram prediction model was constructed.

Results: The univariate analysis revealed that fever, frequency of diarrhea, white blood cell count, blood calcium level, blood glucose level, CO2CP, creatine kinase myocardial band (CK-MB), and blood pH value were all factors that display statistically significant differences at the level of P = 0.05. Then, logistic regression analysis was carried out, taking the occurrence of such convulsions as the dependent variable and the aforementioned factors as independent variables. The results show that fever, frequency of diarrhea, blood calcium, CO2CP, and CK-MB were the independent risk factors (P < 0.05), whereas the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (area under the curve) of the constructed nomogram prediction model based on these factors was 0.842 (95% confidence interval, 0.821-0.914).

Conclusions: Frequency of diarrhea, blood calcium, CO2CP, and CK-MB are independent risk factors for the occurrence of convulsions in children with rotavirus gastroenteritis. The nomogram prediction model constructed based on these risk factors provides guidance and value in effectively preventing and controlling convulsions in children with rotavirus gastroenteritis.