Hassan Ismail

A Community Survey of Neurological Disorders in Saudi Arabia: The Thugbah Study

We report the findings of a total population survey of Thugbah community in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (SA) to determine its point prevalence of neurological diseases. During this two-phase door-to-door study, all Saudi nationals living in Thugbah were first screened by trained interviewers using a pretested questionnaire (sensitivity 98%, specificity 89%) administered at a face-to-face interview. Individuals with abnormal responses were then evaluated by a neurologist using specific guidelines and defined diagnostic criteria to document neurological disease. The questionnaire was readministered blind by a neurologist to all those with abnormal responses and a 1-in-20 random sample of those without abnormal responses, respectively. The family members of an individual with an abnormal response were also screened to improve accuracy. A total of 23,227 Saudis (98% of the eligible subjects) were screened and those residing in Thugbah on the reference date (22,630) were used to calculate the point prevalence rates. Forty-two percent of those screened were in the first decade of life and only 1.5% were more than 60 years old. There were marginally more females (50.2%) than males (49.8%). Consanguineous marriages especially between first cousins were present in 54.6%. The demographic characteristics of Thugbah community were similar to those in other parts of SA. The overall crude prevalence ratio (PR) for all forms of neurological disease was 131/1,000 population. All subsequent PRs are per 1,000 population. Headache syndromes were the most prevalent disorder (PR 20.7). The PR for all seizure disorders was 7.60, and the epilepsies (6.54) were more frequent than febrile convulsions (0.84). Mental retardation, cerebral palsy syndrome, and microcephaly were common pediatric problems with PRs of 6.27, 5.30 and 1.99, respectively. Stroke, Parkinsons disease, and Alzheimers disease were uncommon with respective PRs of 1.8, 0.27 and 0.22. Central nervous system (CNS) malformations (0.49) such as hydrocephalus and meningomyelocele were more prevalent than spinal muscular atrophy (0.13), congenital brachial palsy (0.13) and narcolepsy (0.04). Multiple sclerosis was rare (0.04). Osteoarthritis and low back pain syndromes were the main non-neurological conditions seen. The major medical diseases that may be neurologically relevant were diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and connective tissue disorders.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Stroke in Saudi children.

This study reports the clinical features and neuroimaging correlates of stroke in Saudi children seen over a 5-year period at the King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. During the study period, 31 (18 boys, 13 girls; mean age, 26.2 months) of the 20,895 children seen had stroke; the annual stroke incidence was 29.7 per 100,000 in the pediatric population. Ischemic strokes accounted for 90% and hemorrhagic 10% of the cases, respectively. The boys-to-girls ratio for ischemic stroke was 2:1. Cranial computed tomographic scans and magnetic resonance imaging findings were abnormal in 82% and 91%, respectively. The etiologic factor was undetermined in 65% of the cases. Our results suggest that stroke is uncommon in Saudi children. However, further studies evaluating a larger population in different clinical settings are required to provide a more comprehensive picture of stroke in children in this area. (J Child Neurol 1999;14:295-298).

Stroke in a Tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia: A Study of 372 Cases

Epidemiological studies have shown a consistent downward trend in the incidence and mortality of stroke in industrialized communities. There are however no reports on the pattern of stroke in Saudi nationals and expatriates in Saudi Arabia. The types and etiologies in 372 subjects (262 Saudis, 110 non-Saudis) are described. Males outnumbered females in the ratios of 2.2:1 and 8.2:1 for Saudis and non-Saudis, respectively. The frequency of stroke increased steadily with age until the 7th decade in Saudis but dropped sharply after the 6th in expatriates. The frequency of stroke types in Saudis was ischemic (61%), hemorrhagic (17%) and unspecified (22%) as against 46, 47, and 7% respectively in non-Saudis. Intracerebral hemorrhage was more frequent than subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and was encountered more often in Saudis than in non-Saudis; SAH was 3 times more common in expatriates than in Saudis. The major predisposing factors for stroke were hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiac disorders. Abnormal hemoglobinopathies, especially sickle cell anemia, were rare. The differences observed in the age and sex distribution and in the stroke pattern between Saudi nationals and expatriates most likely reflect the demographic structure existing in Saudi Arabia.

Epilepsy and other convulsive disorders in Saudi Arabia: a prospective study of 1,000 consecutive cases

Abstract The pattern of epilepsy and other convulsive disorders in 1,000 consecutive Saudi nationals is described. These disorders were common with a hospital frequency rate of 8 per 1,000. Men were more frequently affected than women and 60% of the patients were under 10 years old at the onset of their illness. The epilepsies were the commonest type (74%). Febrile convulsions (20%) presented mainly between the ages of one and five years. Isolated seizures (3%) and acute symptomatic convulsions (3%) were uncommon. In the epileptic group, generalised seizures (71%) were more frequent than partial (29%) and complex partial seizures occurred mainly in those above 21 years old. Absences (4%), infantile spasms (3%) and atonic seizures (3%) were uncommon. No specific etiology of the epilepsy was determined in the majority of the cases (63%). The identified major etiologic factors of the epilepsies were perinatal encephalopathy (21%), cerebral trauma (11%), sequelae of meningitis or encephalitis (2%), brain tumors (0.5%), and vascular lesions such as stroke and arteriovenous malformation. Perinatal encephalopathy accounted for 40% of the epilepsies in children less than 5 years old, and trauma for 20% of those above 20 years old. A family history of epilepsy in close relations was obtained in 23% of the cases, and the consanguinity rate among the parents was 53%. The high incidence of associated perinatal encephalopathy found in this study suggests that perinatal factors play a major role in the pathogenesis of epilepsy in Saudi Arabia. The high frequency of cerebral trauma was also striking. Although consanguinity of the parents appeared not to be a major factor in the genetics of convulsive disorders in this environment, it might have potentiated the tendency of familial aggregation of convulsive disorders in this community. Consanguinity may be an important factor in the production of some of these disorders but its precise role has not been determined.

Community survey of neurological disorders in Saudi Arabia: Results of the pilot study in Agrabiah.

A pilot study of the Agrabiah area in Al-Khobar was undertaken to field test study methodologies and identify possible limitations and constraints to a planned community survey for neurological disorders in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The survey used a pre-tested questionnaire administered by trained personnel to all subjects living within 50 blocks randomly selected from the 198 inhabited ones in the area. Subjects with abnormal responses on screening were then evaluated by neurologists using specific guidelines and criteria to establish the diagnosis of neurological disease. One thousand four hundred and eighty-five subjects (98.3% of all eligible subjects) were screened: 227 (15%) had abnormal responses. Of the 202 subsequently evaluated by neurologists, 178 had definite neurological disease. The overall crude prevalence rate (PR) per 1000 population for neurological morbidity was 120.5 (95% confidence limits [CL] 103.5 to 136.5). Headache syndromes (PR 99.7, CL 83 to 114.7) were common. The other common disorders were seizures (PR 10.2, CL 5.1 to 15.3), peripheral nerve disorders (PR 2.7), and stroke (PR 2.0). Mental retardation and cerebral palsy were the main pediatric problems with PRs of 1.4 and 0.7 respectively. Our results show that a community survey for neurological disorders is feasible in Saudi Arabia and the modified questionnaire was a good screening instrument (sensitivity 94.7%, specificity 96.8%). However, the findings on the pattern and prevalence of neurological disorders need to be viewed with caution, particularly against the background of the scope of the study and the small number of subjects assessed. Cultural practices, local time and social events, and climatic conditions significantly affected community participation and the coverage achieved by the study. These factors should be considered when planning community surveys in Saudi Arabia and other environments with similar sociocultural settings.

Headache Syndromes in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

SYNOPSIS

Clinical pattern of newly-diagnosed seizures in Saudi Arabia: a prospective study of 263 children

Abstract The clinical patterns, including history, examination, and electroencephalographic (EEG) and computed tomography (CT) findings were examined prospectively in 263 children (153 boys, 110 girls) with newly diagnosed recurrent seizures. The overall mean age was 4.2 years, with a range of 0.05–13 years. The age of onset was within the first year of life in 128 (48.7%) of the patients. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (14.8%), febrile seizures (9.1%) and developmental delay (4.6%) were the predominant signs in this age group. Consanguinity of the parents was present in 29.7% cases. The main EEG abnormalities were epileptiform activity, which was generalized in 133 (50.6%) and focal in 80 (30.4%). Other abnormalities included slow wave activity in 41 (15.6%) and hypsarrhythmia in 3 (1.1%). The main seizure types were generalized in 60.4% and partial in 32.7%. The types of epileptic syndromes included localization-related (28.1%), generalized (23.2%), undetermined (37.4%) and (special) syndromes 11.4%. The cranial CT findings were normal in 60.5%, and the predominant abnormality was cerebral atrophy in 25.3%. The pattern of seizure types and the peak presentation in early childhood are comparable to those in western reports.