Clinical and electroencephalographic profiles of patients with epilepsy in Mulago Hospital medical neurology clinic.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy is a common neurological problem in Uganda and specifically in the neurology clinic of Mulago hospital. Whereas knowledge of seizure types and etiology are important in the management of patients with epilepsy, there is no recent information describing them in the patients seen in Mulago hospital. Studies regarding these factors were done in the late sixties and early seventies when the classification system, investigative capabilities as well as etiological factors were likely to have been different. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to describe the seizure types as well as EEG abnormalities in patients attending the medical neurology clinic with a diagnosis of epilepsy. It was also aimed at describing the prevalence of particular antecedent factors which are thought to constitute a risk for development of secondary epilepsy. DESIGN: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out on patients attending the neurology outpatient clinic with a diagnosis of epilepsy who were deemed to have active epilepsy. Consenting patients had history taken, physical examination done and laboratory investigations namely; full blood count, ESR, Random blood sugar and serum VDRL. An EEG was also done on all the patients. Min outcome measures were seizure type, EEG diagnosis and probable etiology.

RESULTS: Of the 97 patients studied, 92 (95%) patients had seizures that could be classified according to the ICES (1981) system. Seventy (74%) of these had partial seizures, with partial onset secondarily generalized seizures constituting 59 (61%) of the total. Primary generalized seizures were found in 22 (23%) of the study subjects.