Neurodevelopmental problems in Ghanaian children: Part I. Convulsive disorder

Children with convulsive disorder made up 3% of new patients seen in the paediatric department over a ten year period and 51.5% of children subsequently enrolled in the paediatric neuro-developmental clinic of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana. Generalised tonic-clonic seizures were the commonest type of seizure (76.5%), followed by complex seizures (14.8%) and temporal lobe seizures (3.4%). Majority of patients had no definable cause and normal neurological examination. 47.7% of electroencephalographs had diagnostic abnormalities. Most patients responded well to conventional antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) leading to discontinuation of drug therapy in 48 (7.1%) patients who remained seizure-free for two or more years. Adverse drug reactions and laboratory test abnormalities were rather uncommon. Discontinuation of antiepileptic therapy after effective long-term control is discussed.