The Nigeria Parkinson Disease Registry: Process, Profile, and Prospects of a Collaborative Project.

BACKGROUND: Clinical disease registries are useful for quality improvement in care, benchmarking standards, and facilitating research. Collaborative networks established thence can enhance national and international studies by generating more robust samples and credible data and promote knowledge sharing and capacity building. This report describes the methodology, baseline data, and prospects of the Nigeria Parkinson Disease Registry. METHODS: This national registry was established in November 2016. Ethics approval was obtained for all sites. Basic anonymized data for consecutive cases fulfilling the United Kingdom Parkinson's Disease Brain Bank criteria (except the exclusion criterion of affected family members) are registered by participating neurologists via a secure registry website (www.parkinsonnigeria.com) using a minimal common data capture format. RESULTS: The registry had captured 578 participants from 5 of 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria by July 2019 (72.5% men). Mean age at onset was 60.3 ± 10.7 years; median disease duration (interquartile range) was 36 months (18-60.5 months). Young-onset disease (<50 years) represented 15.2%. A family history was documented in 4.5% and 7.8% with age at onset <50 and ≥ 50, respectively. The most frequent initial symptom was tremor (45.3%). At inclusion, 93.4% were on treatment (54.5% on levodopa monotherapy). Per-capita direct cost for the registry was $3.37. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first published national Parkinson's disease registry in sub-Saharan Africa. The registry will serve as a platform for development of multipronged evidence-based policies and initiatives to improve quality of care of Parkinson's disease and research engagement in Nigeria. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Neurologic infections in a Nigerian university teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND: Neurologic infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality especially worldwide but much more in the African continent. The frequency of the different types of neurologic infections and their mortality in this part of Nigeria is not known. OBJECTIVES: To review cases admitted into the main tertiary referral center in Rivers State of Nigeria with neurologic infections over a 10-year period and to determine the types of infections, their frequency and the mortality. METHODS: Case notes of all admissions into the medical wards of UPTH, Port Harcourt between April 1993 and March 2003 were reviewed. Cases admitted with neurologic infections were extracted and analyzed for the study. RESULTS: Of the 1,395 patients admitted with neurologic disorders during the study period, 311 (22.3%) had neurological infections. The M:F ratio and mean age of patients with neurologic infections were 1.7:1 and 34.1 years respectively. The most common infections identified were meningitis 136(43.7%), tetanus 90(28.9%), Pott's disease with cord compression 30(9.6%), viral meningoencephalitis 27(8.7%) and tuberculous meningitis (TBM) 19(6.1%). The case fatality was high: meningitis 49.3%, tetanus 47.8%, Pott's disease 23.3%, meningoencephalitis 44.4% and TBM 68.4%. CONCLUSIONS: Preventable neurologic infections are a very important cause of morbidity and mortality in this environment. Cases presenting with suspicious neurologic infections should be referred to centers where specialized care can be instituted.

Neurologic infections in a Nigerian university teaching hospital

Background: Neurologic infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality especially worldwide but much more in the African continent.The frequency of the different types of neurologic infections and their mortality in this part of Nigeria is not known. Objectives: To review cases admitted into the main tertiary referral center in Rivers State of Nigeria with neurologic infections over a 10-year period and to determine the types of infections; their frequency and the mortality Methods: Case notes of all admissions into the medical wards of UPTH; Port Harcourt between April 1993 and March 2003 were reviewed. Cases admitted with neurologic infections were extracted and analyzed for the study. Results: Of the 1395 patients admitted with neurologic disorders during the study period; 311 (22.3) had neurological infections. The M:F ratio and mean age of patients with neurolgic infections were 1.7:1 and 34.1 years respectively.The most common infections identified were meningitis 136(43.7); tetanus 90(28.9); Pott's disease with cord compression 30(9.6); viral meningoencephalitis 27(8.7) and tuberculous meningitis (TBM) 19(6.1).The case fatality was high: meningitis 49.3; tetanus 47.8; Pott's disease23.3; meningoencephalitis 44.4and TBM 68.4Conclusions: Preventable neurologic infections are a very important cause of morbidity and mortality in this environment. Cases presenting with suspicious neurologic infections should be referred to centers where specialized care can be instituted