Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jul 24:24:100361.
doi: 10.1016/j.ensci.2021.100361. eCollection 2021 Sep.

Neurological disorders encountered at an out-patient clinic in Ghana's largest medical center: A 16-year review

Albert Akpalu  1   2 , Patrick Adjei  1   2 , Kodwo Nkromah  2 , Foster Osei Poku  2   3 , Fred Stephen Sarfo  4
Affiliations

Neurological disorders encountered at an out-patient clinic in Ghana's largest medical center: A 16-year review

Albert Akpalu et al. eNeurologicalSci. .

Abstract

Background: With a rising age of its population, sub-Saharan Africa(SSA) is currently experiencing an unprecedented rise in burden of neurological disorders. There is limited data on the demographic profile of neurological diseases in SSA.

Objective: To describe the spectrum of neurological disorders at the adult neurology clinic at Ghana's leading medical center.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the adult neurology clinic at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital between 2003 and 2019. We retrospectively reviewed charts of all cases seen at the clinic over the period to document main neurological diagnosis, and captured age and sex of participants. Neurologic diseases were classified using the revised International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems ICD 11 tool.

Results: There were 7950 patients sought consultation over the period with 7076 having a primary neurological disorder. The mean age ± SD of patients included in the analysis was 43.0 ± 19.8 years with 3777 (53.4%) being males. The frequencies of the top 5 neurological disorders were epilepsy (23.0%), peripheral neuropathies (19.6%), movement disorders (14.7%), cerebrovascular diseases (11.1%) and headache disorders (7.7%). Neurocognitive disorders, autoimmune demyelinating disorders of the nervous system, and motor neuron disorders were infrequently observed.

Conclusion: A wide spectrum of neurological disorders were encountered in this clinic, similar to previous report from other centers in SSA. There is an urgent need to build local capacity to provide optimal care to meet the demand of the rising burden of neurological diseases in Ghana.

Keywords: Ghana; ICD 11; Neurologic disorders; Out-patient.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Age and sex distribution of patients with motor neuron disease in a Ghanaian Tertiary Medical Center.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Frequency of CNS Autoimmune demyelinating disorders in a Ghanaian Tertiary Medical Center.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abajobir A.A., Abate K.H., Abd-Allah F., Abdulle A.M., Abera S.F., Abyu G.Y., Ahmed M.B., Aichour A.N., Aichour I., Aichour M.T.E., Akinyemi R.O., Alabed S., Al-Raddadi R., Alvis-Guzman N., Amare A.T., Ansari H., Anwari P., Ärnlöv J., Asayesh H., Asgedom S.W., Atey T.M., Avila-Burgos L., Frinel E., Avokpaho G.A., Azarpazhooh M.R., Barac A., Barboza M., Barker-Collo S.L., Bärnighausen T., Bedi N., Beghi E., Bennett D.A., Bensenor I.M., Berhane A., Betsu B.D., Bhaumik S., Birlik S.M., Biryukov S., Boneya D.J., Bulto L.N.B., Carabin H., Casey D., Castañeda-Orjuela C.A., Catalá-López F., Chen H., Chitheer A.A., Chowdhury R., Christensen H., Dandona L., Dandona R., de Veber G.A., Dharmaratne S.D., Do H.P., Dokova K., Dorsey E.R., Ellenbogen R.G., Eskandarieh S., Farvid M.S., Fereshtehnejad S.-M., Fischer F., Foreman K.J., Geleijnse J.M., Gillum R.F., Giussani G., Goldberg E.M., Gona P.N., Goulart A.C., Gugnani H.C., Gupta R., Hachinski V., Gupta R., Hamadeh R.R., Hambisa M., Hankey G.J., Hareri H.A., Havmoeller R., Hay S.I., Heydarpour P., Hotez P.J., Michael M., Jakovljevic B., Javanbakht M., Jeemon P., Jonas J.B., Kalkonde Y., Kandel A., Karch A., Kasaeian A., Kastor A., Keiyoro P.N., Khader Y.S., Khalil I.A., Khan E.A., Khang Y.-H., Tawfih A., Khoja A., Khubchandani J., Kulkarni C., Kim D., Kim Y.J., Kivimaki M., Kokubo Y., Kosen S., Kravchenko M., Krishnamurthi R.V., Defo B.K., Kumar G.A., Kumar R., Kyu H.H., Larsson A., Lavados P.M., Li Y., Liang X., Liben M.L., Lo W.D., Logroscino G., Lotufo P.A., Loy C.T., Mackay M.T., el Razek H.M.A., el Razek M.M.A., Majeed A., Malekzadeh R., Manhertz T., Mantovani L.G., Massano J., Mazidi M., McAlinden C., Mehata S., Mehndiratta M.M., Memish Z.A., Mendoza W., Mengistie M.A., Mensah G.A., Meretoja A., Mezgebe H.B., Miller T.R., Mishra S.R., Ibrahim N.M., Mohammadi A., Mohammed K.E., Mohammed S., Mokdad A.H., Moradi-Lakeh M., Velasquez I.M., Musa K.I., Naghavi M., Ngunjiri J.W., Nguyen C.T., Nguyen G., le Nguyen Q., Nguyen T.H., Nichols E., Ningrum D.N.A., Nong V.M., Norrving B., Noubiap J.J.N., Ogbo F.A., Owolabi M.O., Pandian J.D., Parmar P.G., Pereira D.M., Petzold M., Phillips M.R., Piradov M.A., Poulton R.G., Pourmalek F., Qorbani M., Rafay A., Rahman M., Rahman M.H., Rai R.K., Rajsic S., Ranta A., Rawaf S., Renzaho A.M.N., Rezai M.S., Roth G.A., Roshandel G., Rubagotti E., Sachdev P., Safiri S., Sahathevan R., Sahraian M.A., Samy A.M., Santalucia P., Santos I.S., Sartorius B., Satpathy M., Sawhney M., Saylan M.I., Sepanlou S.G., Shaikh M.A., Shakir R., Shamsizadeh M., Sheth K.N., Shigematsu M., Shoman H., Silva D.A.S., Smith M., Sobngwi E., Sposato L.A., Stanaway J.D., Stein D.J., Steiner T.J., Stovner L.J., Abdulkader R.S., Szoeke C.E.I., Tabarés-Seisdedos R., Tanne D., Theadom A.M., Thrift A.G., Tirschwell D.L., Topor-Madry R., Tran B.X., Truelsen T., Tuem K.B., Ukwaja K.N., Uthman O.A., Varakin Y.Y., Vasankari T., Venketasubramanian N., Vlassov V.V., Wadilo F., Wakayo T., Wallin M.T., Weiderpass E., Westerman R., Wijeratne T., Wiysonge C.S., Woldu M.A., Wolfe C.D.A., Xavier D., Xu G., Yano Y., Yimam H.H., Yonemoto N., Yu C., Zaidi Z., el Sayed Zaki M., Zunt J.R., Murray C.J.L., Vos T., V.L. GBD 2015 Neurological Disorders Collaborator Group Global, regional, and national burden of neurological disorders during 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet Neurol. 2017;16:877–897. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30299-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Juma K., Juma P.A., Mohamed S.F., Owuor J., Wanyoike A., Mulabi D., Odinya G., Njeru M., Yonga G. First Africa non-communicable disease research conference 2017: Sharing evidence and identifying research priorities. J. Glob. Health. 2019;9 doi: 10.7189/jogh.09.010201. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Report of the UN Secretary General A/72/662, Progress on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases. 2017. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/1474584#record-files-collapse-header
    1. W.H. Organization Neurology Atlas Presents for the First Time, the Most World Federation of Neurology London. 2021. www.who.int/mental_health
    1. ICDW ICD-11 Implementation or Transition Guide. 2019. www.who.int/classifica=ons/network/collabora=ng