Aetiology of Proximal Weakness among Adult Sudanese patients

Abstract

Objective: To determine the aetiology of proximal myopathy among adult
Sudanese patients seen in Elshaab Teaching Hospital.
Methods: This is a descriptive cross sectional hospital based study
conducted in Elshaab Teaching Hospital, during the period from January 2004 September 2005. 100 adult Sudanese patients with proximal myopathy were reviewed, detailed history and proper clinical examination was done by the authors.
Results: The most frequent cause of proximal myopathy was found to be muscular dystrophy which accounted for 30% of the cases, followed by myasthenia gravis 20%, polymyositis and dermatomyositis 14%, Guillain Barre 8%, diabetes mellitus 5%, connective tissue diseases 5%, thyrotoxicosis 3%, chronic renal failure 3%, malignancy 2%, drugs (steroids and chloroquine) 2%, alcohol 2%. Spinal muscular atrophy, hypokalaemia, and hypocalcaemia each accounted for 1%.
Conclusion: The study showed that the incidence of proximal myopathy is more common among females. Proximal muscle weakness involved the lower limbs more than the upper limbs.

Keywords: myopathy, Guillain Barre, dermatomyositis, polymyositis, hypokalaemia, atrophy.

Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 3 (1) 2008: pp. 17-20