Prevalence and pattern of paediatric neurological disorders managed in outpatient physiotherapy clinics in Kano

Abstract

Neurological disorders are among the major causes of physical disability in children. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and pattern of Paediatric Neurological Disorders (PNDs) managed in outpatient Physiotherapy clinics in Kano. The 10-year retrospective descriptive study collected relevant data on PNDs from case files of the children who have been managed in Physiotherapy clinics of the 5 major referral hospitals in Kano using a data capture form. The population of children in Kano State based on the 2006 Census and the projected population for 2017 was obtained from the National Population Commission, Kano State office. The data obtained was analysed with descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage. Dataanalysis was done using Microsoft excel and SPSS version 20. Results showed that 1927paediatric cases were analysed out of which PNDs accounted for 1618 (83.96%). The mean age of the children at the time of their first treatment visit was 3.13 years ± 3.04years (range =33days-12years). Most of the children with PNDs are males 1101(57.1%), with male to female ratio of 1.3:1. The Prevalence of PNDs in Kano was 0.257/1000 (i.e.25.7/100,000). The most common PND that was managed by physiotherapists in KanoState was cerebral palsy which has a prevalence of 0.106/1000 (i.e.10.6/100,000),(proportion = 41.16%). It was concluded that PNDs are the most common paediatric cases managed by physiotherapists in Kano State with cerebral palsy having higherprevalence