Babikir Haydar El Hadi, Elmoustafa Salma B A, Mustafa Nuha A, Elwali Sumia N
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Gezira, Wad Madani, Sudan.
Federal Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Sudan.
Sudan J Paediatr. 2024;24(2):125-132. doi: 10.24911/SJP.106-1599677958.
Patients with epilepsy are at significant risk for cognitive impairment and behavioural abnormalities. The aim of this study was to assess the learning abilities and school performance of epileptic children attending Wad Medani Children Teaching Hospital, Gezira State, Sudan. This was a prospective cross-sectional case-control facility-based study. Data were collected from the hospital database and from school records. A total of 70 patients with epilepsies were recruited as index cases and 70 age and sex-matched non-epileptic patients were included as controls. Both groups underwent comprehensive psychometric assessment. Consensus neurobehavioural diagnoses were made with respect to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Stanford Binet Test and Battery Scales were used to assess the intelligent quotient (IQ) and learning abilities, respectively. The study population consisted of school aged (5-16 years) children; 48.6% were less than age 10 years. The male: female ratio was 1:1.1. A significant increase in learning difficulties among index cases was recorded compared to controls in all domains. The overall learning difficulties results showed a statistically significant result between index cases and controls, with value of <0.001. Similarly, a significant reduction in IQ test results was found among the cases compared to controls. In conclusion, significant learning disabilities (LDs), deterioration in school performance and IQs were detected in children with epilepsy. All children with epilepsy should be considered vulnerable to LDs.
癫痫患者存在认知障碍和行为异常的重大风险。本研究旨在评估苏丹杰济拉州瓦德迈达尼儿童医院癫痫患儿的学习能力和学业表现。这是一项基于机构的前瞻性横断面病例对照研究。数据从医院数据库和学校记录中收集。共招募了70例癫痫患者作为索引病例，并纳入了70例年龄和性别匹配的非癫痫患者作为对照。两组均接受了全面的心理测量评估。根据《诊断与统计手册》做出共识性神经行为诊断。分别使用斯坦福-比奈智力量表和成套量表来评估智商（IQ）和学习能力。研究人群包括学龄（5 - 16岁）儿童；48.6%的儿童年龄小于10岁。男女比例为1:1.1。与对照组相比，索引病例在所有领域的学习困难均有显著增加。总体学习困难结果显示，索引病例与对照组之间具有统计学显著差异，P值<0.001。同样，与对照组相比，病例组的智商测试结果显著降低。总之，在癫痫患儿中检测到显著的学习障碍（LDs）、学业表现和智商下降。所有癫痫患儿都应被视为易患学习障碍。
