Background: children in Africa are mainly affected by epilepsy. This study describes the clinical and paraclinical profiles of epileptic children followed at the Neuro-Psychopathological Center of the University of Kinshasa (CNPP/Unikin). Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study analyzed the files of patients aged ≤ 15 years old admitted to the pediatric neurology unit of the CNPP/Unikin, from December 2015 to December 2020. The variables of interest were sociodemographic, clinical, and evolutionary. Excel 2010 and SPSS version 20.0 were used to manage the data. Results: 118 files of children (70 boys and 48 girls) were collected; 40.7% were between 11 and 15 years old. The mean (SD) age was 8.2 (4.1) years. Sixty percent of admissions were due to epilepsy. Forty-seven (39.8%) patients had idiopathic epilepsy. The majority (83.1%) of seizures is generalized and tonic-clonic seizure is predominant (64.4%). Comorbidities were dominated by neurodevelopmental disorders (8%). Nutritionally, hypocalcaemia (51.7%), hypomagnesaemia (16%) and hypokalemia (1.7%) were observed. Abnormalities during pregnancy and childbirth (23.7%) were the most common etiological factors. The seizures outcome under treatment was characterized, in general, by regression (64.4%). Conclusion: epilepsy is the leading cause of admission in CNPP/Unikin neuropediatric unit, with increasing rates. Nutritional disorders, abnormalities during pregnancy, and childbirth are the dominant etiological factors in these children living with epilepsy. Therefore, health policies must be deeply reassessed, Sub-Saharan Africa, to improve the management and prevention of both epilepsy and identified etiological factors.
Published in | European Journal of Preventive Medicine (Volume 12, Issue 6) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12 |
Page(s) | 138-145 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Clinic, Epilepsy, Neuropediatry, Paraclinic, Sub-Saharan Africa
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APA Style
Lukusa, A. N., Kabamba, V. H., Kabuayi, P. N., Mbombo, S. N., Malu, C. K., et al. (2024). Clinical and Paraclinical Profiles of Children Living with Epilepsy Admitted to Neuro-Psychopathological Center of Kinshasa. European Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12(6), 138-145. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12
ACS Style
Lukusa, A. N.; Kabamba, V. H.; Kabuayi, P. N.; Mbombo, S. N.; Malu, C. K., et al. Clinical and Paraclinical Profiles of Children Living with Epilepsy Admitted to Neuro-Psychopathological Center of Kinshasa. Eur. J. Prev. Med. 2024, 12(6), 138-145. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12
AMA Style
Lukusa AN, Kabamba VH, Kabuayi PN, Mbombo SN, Malu CK, et al. Clinical and Paraclinical Profiles of Children Living with Epilepsy Admitted to Neuro-Psychopathological Center of Kinshasa. Eur J Prev Med. 2024;12(6):138-145. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12
@article{10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12, author = {Alphonsine Ntumba Lukusa and Victor Hutu Kabamba and Philippe Ntalaja Kabuayi and Sylvie Ntumba Mbombo and Celestin Kaputu-Kalala Malu and Daniel Okitundu Luwa E-Andjafano}, title = {Clinical and Paraclinical Profiles of Children Living with Epilepsy Admitted to Neuro-Psychopathological Center of Kinshasa }, journal = {European Journal of Preventive Medicine}, volume = {12}, number = {6}, pages = {138-145}, doi = {10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ejpm.20241206.12}, abstract = {Background: children in Africa are mainly affected by epilepsy. This study describes the clinical and paraclinical profiles of epileptic children followed at the Neuro-Psychopathological Center of the University of Kinshasa (CNPP/Unikin). Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study analyzed the files of patients aged ≤ 15 years old admitted to the pediatric neurology unit of the CNPP/Unikin, from December 2015 to December 2020. The variables of interest were sociodemographic, clinical, and evolutionary. Excel 2010 and SPSS version 20.0 were used to manage the data. Results: 118 files of children (70 boys and 48 girls) were collected; 40.7% were between 11 and 15 years old. The mean (SD) age was 8.2 (4.1) years. Sixty percent of admissions were due to epilepsy. Forty-seven (39.8%) patients had idiopathic epilepsy. The majority (83.1%) of seizures is generalized and tonic-clonic seizure is predominant (64.4%). Comorbidities were dominated by neurodevelopmental disorders (8%). Nutritionally, hypocalcaemia (51.7%), hypomagnesaemia (16%) and hypokalemia (1.7%) were observed. Abnormalities during pregnancy and childbirth (23.7%) were the most common etiological factors. The seizures outcome under treatment was characterized, in general, by regression (64.4%). Conclusion: epilepsy is the leading cause of admission in CNPP/Unikin neuropediatric unit, with increasing rates. Nutritional disorders, abnormalities during pregnancy, and childbirth are the dominant etiological factors in these children living with epilepsy. Therefore, health policies must be deeply reassessed, Sub-Saharan Africa, to improve the management and prevention of both epilepsy and identified etiological factors. }, year = {2024} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Clinical and Paraclinical Profiles of Children Living with Epilepsy Admitted to Neuro-Psychopathological Center of Kinshasa AU - Alphonsine Ntumba Lukusa AU - Victor Hutu Kabamba AU - Philippe Ntalaja Kabuayi AU - Sylvie Ntumba Mbombo AU - Celestin Kaputu-Kalala Malu AU - Daniel Okitundu Luwa E-Andjafano Y1 - 2024/11/26 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12 T2 - European Journal of Preventive Medicine JF - European Journal of Preventive Medicine JO - European Journal of Preventive Medicine SP - 138 EP - 145 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8230 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20241206.12 AB - Background: children in Africa are mainly affected by epilepsy. This study describes the clinical and paraclinical profiles of epileptic children followed at the Neuro-Psychopathological Center of the University of Kinshasa (CNPP/Unikin). Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study analyzed the files of patients aged ≤ 15 years old admitted to the pediatric neurology unit of the CNPP/Unikin, from December 2015 to December 2020. The variables of interest were sociodemographic, clinical, and evolutionary. Excel 2010 and SPSS version 20.0 were used to manage the data. Results: 118 files of children (70 boys and 48 girls) were collected; 40.7% were between 11 and 15 years old. The mean (SD) age was 8.2 (4.1) years. Sixty percent of admissions were due to epilepsy. Forty-seven (39.8%) patients had idiopathic epilepsy. The majority (83.1%) of seizures is generalized and tonic-clonic seizure is predominant (64.4%). Comorbidities were dominated by neurodevelopmental disorders (8%). Nutritionally, hypocalcaemia (51.7%), hypomagnesaemia (16%) and hypokalemia (1.7%) were observed. Abnormalities during pregnancy and childbirth (23.7%) were the most common etiological factors. The seizures outcome under treatment was characterized, in general, by regression (64.4%). Conclusion: epilepsy is the leading cause of admission in CNPP/Unikin neuropediatric unit, with increasing rates. Nutritional disorders, abnormalities during pregnancy, and childbirth are the dominant etiological factors in these children living with epilepsy. Therefore, health policies must be deeply reassessed, Sub-Saharan Africa, to improve the management and prevention of both epilepsy and identified etiological factors. VL - 12 IS - 6 ER -