Seizures Scenario in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Odisha, India- A Retrospective Study

Purpose: Seizures being one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in many developing countries still the etiological profile is less documented in many regions. This retrospective study aimed to understand regionally identified etiologies of seizure in Odisha, an eastern coastal province of India.

Methods: Data was retrieved from medical records of seizure patients those who were admitted during between August 2012 to December 2014 in a university teaching hospital. Information about demographics, clinical presentations, imaging studies, and diagnoses were extracted manually from each of the case sheets for analysis.

Results: A total of 519 cases of seizures were admitted in various wards during the above period; a majority were male (63.2%). Presentation was more afebrile (62.04%) than febrile (37.96%), where either forms were predominantly found in children over adults (p= <0.05). Among cases with afebrile seizures, the recorded leading causes were hypertensive neuropathy (4.98%), metabolic encephalopathy (3.42%), viral encephalopathy (3.1%), neurocyticercosis (2.8%), and status epilepticus (6.21%). Among cases with febrile seizures, the major etiology was due to an infection (23.35%) where respiratory tract infection was the most common form.

Conclusion: This is the first ever report where etiological profile of febrile and afebrile forms of seizures are identified in Odisha where seizure is a continuing problem. Scenario at one hospital might be the tip of iceberg that tempts to explore the base by either prospective or record based multi-center studies to find more accurate regional burdens of seizure and its causes.