Abstract:
Objective: To describe the patterns and burden of neurological and neurosurgical disorders at a national tertiary
level referral hospital in western Kenya.
Methods: We conducted a three-month period prevalence study. We recruited consecutive adult patients seeking
neurological-neurosurgical care in both inpatient and outpatient settings at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Results: 833 participants were included. The age range was between 19 year and 99 years (mean age = 45.3
years). The most common diagnoses among neurology inpatients were meningitis (12%), ischemic stroke
(11.0%) and epilepsy/seizure (6.7%). Among neurology outpatients, epilepsy (35.1%) and ischemic stroke
(18.8%) were the most common diagnoses. The most common neurosurgery inpatient diagnosis was hemorrhagic
stroke (16.3%) and among outpatients, the most common diagnoses were traumatic brain injury (17.4%) and
hemorrhagic stroke (16.3%). Overall, 471 (56.5%) patients underwent HIV testing, of which, 89 (18.9%) were
HIV positive and 382 (81.1%) were HIV negative. Thirty-one inpatient deaths (male 58%), attributable to
neurological and neurosurgical disorders, occurred during the study period. Meningitis was the most common
cause of death.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that meningitis, stroke, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury were the most
common diagnosis. More resources and efforts should be directed towards prevention, diagnosis and management of these conditions in the region.