Pattern Of Neurological Disorders In Child Neurology Clinic Of The University Of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

The management and rehabilitation of children with neurological disorders is not only expensive but challenging due to lack of adequate facilities and personnel in various relevant disciplines. Allocation of resources for the management of these disorders especially in resource poor countries demands an audit of the pattern of the disorders from time to time. The records of children attending the Child Neurology Clinic (CNC) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) were evaluated to determine the pattern of neurologic disorders. Seven hundred and ninety - nine children (mean age ± SD of 54.7 ± 49.9 months) were seen between 1998 and 2006. Males accounted for 56.7% while 43.3% were females. Most of the Children 69.1% were aged 5years and below while 19.1% and 11.8% were aged between 5 and 10 years and above 10 years respectively. Cerebral palsy accounted for majority (33.4%) of the cases seen followed by epilepsy 30.3%, post infectious neurologic disorder 5.5% and speech disorder 5.3% respectively. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder accounted for 2.1%. Other disorders seen include acute flaccid paralysis, autism, developmental delay, headache, mental retardation, HIV encephalopathy, cranial neuropathy, Erb Duchene paralysis, deafness, cerebella ataxia, conversion disorder, polyneuritis, syncope, Tic disorder and tuberous sclerosis. Concerted effort at the training of speech, occupational therapists and clinical psychologists to meet some of the challenges in rehabilitation and management of these children and their families is suggested.

Keywords: Pattern, Neurologic Disorders, children, Benin City

Annals of Biomedical Sciences Vol. 6 (1) 2007: pp. 18-27