Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright of the published papers and grant to the publisher the non-exclusive right to publish the article, to be cited as its original publisher in case of reuse, and to distribute it in all forms and media. Users are required to provide full bibliographic description of the original publication (authors, article title, journal title, volume, issue, pages), as well as its DOI code. In electronic publishing, users are also required to link the content with the original article published in the Ethiopian Medical Journal. Authors can enter separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of their work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Main Article Content
Caregiver reported incidence of status epilepticus in persons with epilepsy in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria.
Abstract
Background: Status epilepticus is a neurological emergency which may occur in people with epilepsy. Ascertaining the incidence of status epilepticus in the community is wrought with many challenges and few reports exist in sub–Saharan Africa, a region with a high burden of epilepsy.
Objective: The aim of this study was to describe reported incidence of status epilepticus among epilepsy patients attending neurology outpatient clinic in Enugu.
Methods: This was cross-sectional study carried out in the medical out-patient clinics in Enugu Nigeria. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Informants were patients and their caregivers. Status epilepticus defined as seizures based on International League Against Epilepsy criteria.
Results: Data of 154 patients were reviewed and analysed. A total of 56(36.4%) confirmed that they had experienced seizures that could be described as status epilepticus (males (36.3%) and females (36.5%)). P=0.98. About 54.5% of those with stroke and 47.9% of patients who had cluster seizures reported a history of status epilepticus. Factors that correlated with having status epilepticus were history of cluster seizures, family history of epilepsy and having no past history of seizure related admissions.
Conclusions: The reported incidence of status epilepticus among epilepsy patients attending tertiary hospital clinics in Enugu is high. Factors that may account for this includes, non-adherence, or greater seizure severity. Careful patient education will improve emergency management of epilepsy to reduce the morbidity related to epilepsy in the community.
