Spectrum of Paediatric Neurological Disorders: A Study from A Single Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan.

Neurological Disorders in children in Pakistan.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the clinical spectrum of neurological disorders in patients presenting in Paediatric Neurology Outpatient Department, Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health Faisalabad.

Study Design: Hospital Based Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Place and Duration of the Study: Paediatric Neurology Outpatient Department, Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health Faisalabad, from January 2023 to January 2024.

Methodology: Total 5211 patients were selected from the Paediatric Neurology Outpatient Database from January 2023 to January 2024, after approval from institutional ethical review board. Data regarding age, gender, area of living and diagnosis was recorded on a pre designed questionnaire.

Results: Out of 5211 patients, majority were males (59.88%), females being (40.12%), with male to female ratio of 1.4:1. The predominant age group involved is from one to five years of age (41.97%). Most of the patients belonged to rural areas (51.32%). The most common neurological disorder observed was epilepsy 2109(40.4%) followed by developmental disorders 577 (11.7%), breath holding spells 463(8.8%), CNS infections 442(8.4%), behavioural disorders 373(7.1), intellectual disability 202(3.8%), demyelinating disorders 154(2.9%), stroke 130(2.4%), neuromuscular disorders 128(2.4%), headache disorders 120(2.3%), neurometabolic disorders 106(2.03%), bell`s palsy 77(1.4%), neural tube defects 64(1.2%), space occupying lesion 51(0.9%), neurocutaneous syndromes 43(0.8%) and miscellaneous 66(1.2%).

Conclusion: Hence, we concluded that most common disorder in our population was epilepsy followed by developmental disorders. The majority of the patients were from 1 to 5 years of age with male predominance and residing in rural areas.

Key words: neurological disorders, epilepsy, paediatrics, developmental disorders