Factors associated with seizure severity among children with epilepsy in Northern Nigeria.
Ghana Med J
; 56(1): 23-27, 2022 Mar.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35919782
ABSTRACT
Objective:
To describe how seizure severity in children with epilepsy may be affected by certain socio-demographic and clinical variables.Design:
A cross-sectional study.Setting:
At the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, Nigeria.Participants:
Sixty children and adolescents who were being followed up for seizure disorder at the child neurology clinic. Intervention Information on socio-demographic characteristics was obtained with a questionnaire, details of neurological co-morbidities were extracted from the participants' records, and seizure severity was assessed with the National Hospital Seizure Severity Score 3 tool. Main OutcomeMeasure:
Chi-square test was used to establish the relationship between categorical variables, while the Independent t-test was used in describing the differences between means. Simple linear regression was calculated to assess the predictability of seizure severity.Result:
The median age was ten years (IQR = 6-13 years), with a male dominance (1.51). The Seizure Severity Score (SSS) ranged between 3 and 24 units, with a mean of 12.22 ± 4.29 units. The only characteristic that had a significant association with SSS on bivariate analysis was the "presence of co-morbidities" (p=0.019). A simple linear regression revealed that the presence of a neurological co-morbidity predicted an increase in the SSS by 2.67 units. [R2 = 0.091, F (1, 58)= 5.837, p = 0.019. ß = 2.67, t= 2.42, p= 0.019.].Conclusion:
This study shows that neurological co-morbidities predict worsening seizure severity. This knowledge may influence prognostication and the charting of a treatment trajectory.Funding:
No external funding.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Epilepsy
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
Ghana Med J
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article