Clinical Microbiological Aspects of Epileptic Seizures in the Tropical Countries with Specific Focus on Nigeria

Kanu, Ijeoma; Anyanwu, Ebere C.; Nwachukwu, N. C.; Ehiri, John E.; Merrick, Joav

doi:10.1100/tsw.2005.51

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Other studies in Africa have also demonstrated that the cause of epilepsy can frequently be unknown [41][42][22]. Inability to determine the cause of epilepsy is largely due to financial and diagnostic limitations at the point of care [18]. Further, genetic and metabolic testing is not available locally and performance of these tests by overseas healthcare partners is associated with significant financial costs and time delays as has been our experience.…”

Section: Co-morbiditiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical characteristics of children with epilepsy managed at an urban hospital in Africa: a retrospective study

Samia¹,

Barr

Levi

et al. 2019

JICNA

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Background Most children with epilepsy reside in resource-limited regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of studies have been conducted in rural areas with limited investigations. Medical records from children with epilepsy seen at an urban hospital in Kenya were examined to provide a comprehensive description of epilepsy in children from this hospital. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted which involved reviewing medical records of 426 epilepsy patients (260 males and 166 females) aged 0 - 18 years, seen at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya between February 2011 and December 2014. Results The most frequent age at presentation; documented in 29% was in infancy. Generalized seizures due to structural brain abnormalities were the most common form of epilepsy (28%). Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome was the most common electroclinical syndrome (7%). Focal seizures and focal seizures with loss of awareness were identified in 12% of the population. There were no cases of childhood absence epilepsy in this group. Brain atrophy was the most common MRI finding, occurring in a fifth of the population (20%), while cystic encephalomalacia occurred in 13%. Half (50%) of all EEG recordings performed for this cohort were abnormal. Generalized seizures due to structural brain abnormalities and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) were significant predictors of a treatment history of three or more AEDs. At the conclusion of the review period, 16% of the patients had not visited the clinic for more than 12 months and were considered to be lost to follow-up. Conclusion The highest frequency of epilepsy cases was documented in children less than one year of age. Generalized seizures due to structural abnormalities and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome were the most common seizure type and syndrome. Improvement of public awareness of different types of seizures in children may increase identification of children with childhood absence epilepsy.

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Section: Co-morbiditiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical characteristics of children with epilepsy managed at an urban hospital in Africa: a retrospective study

Samia¹,

Barr

Levi

et al. 2019

JICNA

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“…More than 20% of childhood epilepsy is associated with genetic inheritance [ 19 ]. Furthermore, parasitic infections like onchocerca volvulus, neurocysticercosis, and infection with plasmodium species are associated with increased rate of childhood epilepsy [ 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence, incidence, and trends of epilepsy among children and adolescents in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Biset,

Abebaw,

Gebeyehu

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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Background Epilepsy contributes to a significant disease burden in children and adolescents worldwide. The incidence of childhood epilepsy is threefold higher in low and middle income countries compared in high-income countries. Epilepsy is a serious neurological condition associated with stigma and discrimination, an impaired quality of life, and other mental health related problems. Objective This study is aimed to synthesize existing evidence and estimate the pooled prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in children and adolescents in Africa. Methods A comprehensive and systematic search of relevant databases was conducted. The quality of each study was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale adapted for meta-analysis. Two reviewers screened retrieved articles, conducted critical appraisals, and extracted the data. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed by visual inspection of forest plots and statistically using Cochran’s Q statistics and the I2 test. Publication bias was checked by visual inspection of funnel plots as well as statistically using Egger’s correlation and Begg’s regression tests. Finally, the pooled prevalence and incidence of childhood epilepsy were computed with 95% confidence intervals. Result In this review and meta-analysis 42 studies with 56 findings were included to compute the pooled prevalence of childhood epilepsy. On the other hand, 6 studies were included to estimate the combined incidence. The pooled prevalence of cumulative epilepsy was 17.3 per 1000 children. Whereas the pooled prevalence of active and lifetime epilepsy was 6.8 and 18.6 per 1000 children respectively. The pooled incidence of childhood epilepsy was 2.5 per 1000 children. Conclusion Nearly 1 in 50 children are suffering from epilepsy in Africa. However, little attention has been paid to the prevention and treatment of childhood epilepsy. Mass epilepsy screening, scaling up treatment coverage, and designing strict treatment follow up and monitoring mechanisms are recommended.

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Taenia solium taeniosis/cysticercosis and the co-distribution with schistosomiasis in Africa

et al. 2015

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BackgroundThis study aimed to map the distribution of Taenia solium taeniosis/cysticercosis and the co-distribution with schistosomiasis in Africa. These two major neglected tropical diseases are presumed to be widely distributed in Africa, but currently the level of co-distribution is unclear.MethodsA literature search on T. solium taeniosis/cysticercosis was performed to compile all known studies on the presence of T. solium and apparent prevalence of taeniosis and porcine cysticercosis in Africa. Studies were geo-referenced using an online gazetteer. A Bayesian framework was used to combine the epidemiological data on the apparent prevalence with external information on test characteristics to estimate informed district-level prevalence of taeniosis and porcine cysticercosis. Districts with T. solium taeniosis/cysticercosis presence were cross-referenced with the Global Neglected Tropical Diseases Database for schistosomiasis presence.ResultsThe search strategies identified 141 reports of T. solium in Africa from 1985 to 2014 from a total of 476 districts in 29 countries, 20 with porcine cysticercosis, 22 with human cysticercosis, and 16 with taeniosis, in addition to 2 countries identified from OIE reports. All 31 countries were considered, on national scale, to have co-distribution with schistosomiasis. Presence of both parasites was confirmed in 124 districts in 17 countries. The informed prevalence of taeniosis and porcine cysticercosis were estimated for 14 and 41 districts in 10 and 13 countries, respectively.ConclusionsWith the paucity of data, T. solium infection is grossly under-reported and expected to be more widespread than this study suggests. In areas where co-distribution occurs there is a need for increased emphasis on evaluation of integrated intervention approaches for these two helminth infections and allocation of resources for evaluating the extent of adverse effects caused by mass drug administration.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0938-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Clinical Microbiological Aspects of Epileptic Seizures in the Tropical Countries with Specific Focus on Nigeria

Cited by 3 publications

References 45 publications

Clinical characteristics of children with epilepsy managed at an urban hospital in Africa: a retrospective study

Clinical characteristics of children with epilepsy managed at an urban hospital in Africa: a retrospective study

Prevalence, incidence, and trends of epilepsy among children and adolescents in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Taenia solium taeniosis/cysticercosis and the co-distribution with schistosomiasis in Africa

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