Prevalence and Pattern of Peripheral Nerve Injuries in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) are a worldwide problem and are among the leading cause of disabilities, thereby posing a major social and economic burden in the society. The prevalence of PNI needs to be known for healthcare actions to be taken and implementation of policies, however, such information is not readily available in this part of the world. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the hospital-based prevalence and pattern of PNI in Kano metropolis. The medical records of 28,374 patients who attended five (5) major hospitals in Kano metropolis from 2010- 2014 were reviewed in this retrospective study. The records of patients diagnosed with PNI were screened and 454 met the inclusion criteria. A research pro-forma was used to collect the relevant data, including age, gender, injury aetiology, region, nerve affected and referral for physiotherapy. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency, tables and percentages. The prevalence of PNI was found to be 1.6%, with males constituting 77.5%. The majority (70%) of the patients were younger than 40 years, and 42% of the PNI were located in the upper limb, with a high prevalence at the ulnar nerve (18%). Motor vehicle accidents (MVA) accounted for the highest number of cases(26.5%). The majority (81.5%) of the patients were not referred for physiotherapy. The hospital-based prevalence of PNI in Kano metropolis is low, so also is referral for physiotherapy and MVA is the leading cause of PNI.

KEY WORDS: peripheral nerves injuries, prevalence, pattern