Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients with epilepsy in a pediatric hospital in Honduras

Abstract

Background: Epilepsy is a common disease in the pediatric population; accounting for most referrals to the Neurology Department. In Honduras there are few recent publications on the subject. Objective: To describe the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of the patients with epilepsy in a national paediatric reference centre. Methods: retrospective descriptive study. Medical files of patients from the Pediatric Neurology outpatient clinic of the Hospital María, Especialidades Pediatricas (HMEP), Tegucigalpa, Honduras during May 2015 – March 2019 were used. Data analysis was done through descriptive statistics. Results: 334 patients were studied, with male population being the most frequently affected 55.7% (186), patients mostly came from an urban zone 69.5% (232), and median age was 7.3 years. A high proportion of patients 81.1% (271) were children of an unemployed mother and in 26.3% (88) of the total cases, the father was absent. Epilepsy etiology was unknown in 54.4% (182) of cases. In 26.3% (88) of patients, a family history of epilepsy was present. For patients with history of any perinatal event 50.6% (174/344), 24.7% (43/174) suffered birth asphyxia. Malnutrition was found in 32.7% (108/330) of subjects. Focal seizures were the most common type; crises were triggered mainly by treatment dropout. Some kind of disability was present in 36.6% (126) of patients, being cognitive disability the most relevant. Discussion: There is a need to strengthen public health strategies aimed at prenatal, natal and postnatal prevention of epilepsy, provide support to single-parent families and ensure continued access to health services.