Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
Seizure. 2013 Sep;22(7):572-6. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2013.04.012. Epub 2013 May 9.
The understanding of causation of epilepsy, especially in resource poor African countries where prevalence rates are very high, would aid strategies for primary prevention. This study sought to determine the causes of epilepsy in Nigerian Africans and health-itinerary of patients with epilepsy.
This was an observational, cross-sectional descriptive study of consecutive newly diagnosed adult patients with epilepsy using a mixed-methods approach of face-to-face in-depth interview of patients' parents and relations, health care personnel who had given medical attention at any time and telephone interview. A structured interview schedule was used to obtain demographic information, details of seizure variables, health seeking itinerary and history of previous hospitalizations. Data was analyzed descriptively with SPSS version 17.
Three hundred and forty-two patients with epilepsy with a mean age of 31.4±11.98 years participated in the study. Most of the patients (68.1%; 233/342) were unemployed and students. There were 270 (78.9%) patients with generalized epilepsy. No identifiable etiology was found in 37.7%, but of the remaining 62.3%, the commonest causes included post traumatic (19.6%), recurrent childhood febrile convulsions (13.2%), post-stroke (6.7%), brain tumors (5.9%), neonatal jaundice (5.3%), birth-related asphyxia (5%) and history of previous CNS infections (4.7%). Family history of epilepsy was obtained in 9.9%, all of whom had primarily generalized seizures. 61.4% of them sought initial attention from the traditional healers or in prayer houses.
This study showed the pattern of causes of epilepsy in Nigerian Africans. The health seeking behavior and itinerary of the PWE revealed a preference for traditional healers. There is need for health policies and epilepsy awareness campaigns to prevent causes of seizures and improve the knowledge of the public respectively.
了解癫痫的病因，特别是在患病率非常高的资源匮乏的非洲国家，这将有助于制定初级预防策略。本研究旨在确定尼日利亚非洲人的癫痫病因和癫痫患者的就医轨迹。
这是一项采用混合方法的连续新诊断成年癫痫患者的观察性、横断面描述性研究，包括对患者的父母和亲属、任何时候提供过医疗服务的医护人员进行面对面深入访谈，以及电话访谈。使用结构化访谈表获取人口统计学信息、发作变量详细信息、求医轨迹和既往住院史。使用 SPSS 版本 17 进行描述性分析。
共有 342 名癫痫患者参与了研究，平均年龄为 31.4±11.98 岁。大多数患者（68.1%；233/342）无业或为学生。270 例（78.9%）为全面性癫痫。37.7%的患者未能找到明确病因，但在其余 62.3%的患者中，常见病因包括创伤后（19.6%）、复发性儿童热性惊厥（13.2%）、中风后（6.7%）、脑肿瘤（5.9%）、新生儿黄疸（5.3%）、分娩相关窒息（5%）和既往中枢神经系统感染史（4.7%）。有 9.9%的患者有癫痫家族史，均为原发性全面性发作。其中 61.4%最初在传统治疗师或祈祷场所寻求治疗。
本研究显示了尼日利亚非洲人癫痫的病因模式。癫痫患者的就医轨迹显示了他们对传统治疗师的偏好。需要制定卫生政策和开展癫痫意识宣传活动，分别预防癫痫发作的原因和提高公众的认识。
