IRON STATUS IN CHILDREN WITH SEVERE BREATH- HOLDING SPELLS

Breath-holding spells, one of the most common non-epileptic paroxysmal events in children which are very stressful to the family despite their benign nature. The pathophysiology of breath-holding spells is not fully understood. Iron deficiency anemia may be a factor contributing to breath-holding spells. This case-control study had been carried out on children with severe breath-holding spells to assess iron status among these patients. Forty six children (28 boys, 18 girls) aged between 6 to 36 months with severe breath holding spellsattending pediatric outpatient department of Basra General Hospital during the period from September 2008 to April 2009 and 50 cases (38 boys,12 girls) without breath holding spells (control) were enrolled in this study. A number of blood indices (Hemoglobin, mean cell volume, serum iron, serum ferritin, and total iron binding capacity) were assessed in both groups. The study showed that children with severe breath- holding spells showed a significantly low hemoglobin, mean cell volume, serum iron, and serum ferritin compared to control group (p <0.05), while total iron binding capacity was significantly higher in patients with breath holding spells than control group (p <0.05), the study also revealed that there was no significant differences between different types of breath-holding spells in relation to the studied blood and iron indices (p>0.05). The results of this study could supports the view of iron deficiency in breath holding spells and recommends investigations for iron deficiency anemia in children with severe breath- holding spells.