A Cohort Study Of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Spectrum Of Paediatric Brain Disorders In Selected Tertiary Healthcare Facilities In South-South Nigeria

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Globally, about 1.5 billion people suffer from brain disorders, which contribute to the highest number of the world’s paediatric disease burden. Nigeria accounts for 7% of the global paediatric population of brain disorder-induced disabilities. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the recommended modality for brain imaging. However, the lack of MRI data relevant to paediatric brain disorders in South-South Nigeria necessitated the present study, which sought to evaluate the MRI spectrum of paediatric brain disorders.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the most prevalent brain disorder in paediatrics, the most susceptible age group and the sex.

MATERIALS AND METHOD: A cohort of 120 paediatrics aged 0 to 18 years in selected three tertiary hospitals were sampled from January 2019 to January 2023. Brain disorders, age, sex, and MRI images were selected from the hospitals’ archives. Microsoft Excel version 16.37 was used for data entry, while the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26.0 was used for statistical analysis.  The significance level was set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS: A total of 73 males and 47 females were recruited in the study. Results showed epilepsy 28 (23.35%) as the highest disorder, others were hydrocephalus 20 (16.7%), meningitis and space-occupying lesions 16 (13.3%), cerebellar tumours, and cerebral infarcts 8 (6.7%). No significant difference in brain pathology between sex (p = 0.988: > 0.05) and no statistical association (p = 0.075: > 0.05) between the brain disorders and age groups was recorded.

CONCLUSION: The study highlights the importance of MRI in diagnosing a wide range of brain disorders. Epilepsy was recorded to be the most common paediatric brain disorder and there were no differences between brain disorders and sex or age groups.