EPILEPSY PREVALENCE IN CHILDREN ADMITTED TO TABRIZ CHILDREN HOSPITAL

Epilepsy is one of the most common and chronic pediatrics neurological
diseases. Results of many epidemiological researches in pediatrics epilepsy prevalence are somewhat
different due to methodological differences. The aim of this research was to determine epilepsy
prevalence in children admitted to Tabriz children hospital.
Materials & Methods: In this secondary analysis research, all hospital documents of children admitted
to neurology ward with seizure diagnosis during 2009 were analyzed. Data gathering form consisted
of three demographic questions (age, gender, age of seizures onset) and six questions related to the
disease (seizures frequency, type and duration, fever, family history and final diagnosis). The data
were analyzed by PASW 18 edition.
Results: Of the samples, 47 patients had epilepsy. This was 0/38% of total hospital admission rate,
4/3% of total neurological ward admission rate and 9/5% of total seizure patients’ admission rate. The
average age was 25±3 months, positive family history 23%, generalized tonic-clonic 75%, cerebral
palsy and mental retardation 17%, and 51% of them were male. Age of seizer onset of 40% subjects
was lower than 24 months.
Conclusion: Results of this research were consistent with other researches in total epilepsy prevalence
rate, age of seizure onset, epilepsy predominance in males, generalized seizure predominance, positive
family history. The difference in parts of the results is due to local effects such as health facilities or
methodology