Objective: To determine the pattern of neurological diseases in children.
Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of paediatric patients reporting to the Paediatric Neurological
Clinic at Orotta Referral Hospital with neurological diseases. The systematic evaluation of patients was carried out from 2002 to 2005.
Results: Altogether 736 children with age ranging from 3 months to 15 years being 61% boys and 39% girls,
presented with different neurological disorders. Although the cases may have presented with more than one
diagnosis (29.6%), the most frequent neurological diseases were epilepsy (25.9%), cerebral palsy(C/P) (19.3%) and post febrile neurological diseases (12.5%) and others. Out of all epileptic cases, grand mal(GTCS) (74%), partial seizures (5.6%), akinetic attacks(drop attacks) (5.6%) and petit mal (absence siezures) (3.2%) were the commonest types of epilepsy. In the majority of epilepsy (63.5%) no cause was found. There was no gender difference in all neurological disorders studied.
Discussion and Conclusion: Epilepsy is a common disease in children. The prevailing enigma that epilepsy is
rare in children is an unfounded myth making it imperative for appropriate index of clinical suspicion whenever
a paediatric patient presents with unusual clinical pattern. The increased number of epileptic cases at first
attendance with age calls for aggressive treatment at the early stages when neurological deficits are likely to
occur as the disease may have spontaneously permanent remission. The high number of cases with cerebral
palsy and post febrile illness neurological diseases necessitates urgent preventive measures and appropriate
management in the country
