Aetiology of proximal weakness among adult Sudanese patients

Abstract EN

Objective : to determine the a etiology of proximal myopathy among adult Sudanese patients seen in Elshaab Teaching Hospital.

Methods: This is a descriptive cross sectional hospital based study conducted in Elshaab Teaching Hospital, during the period from January 2004-September 2005.

100 adult Sudanese patients with proximal myopathy were reviewed, detailed history and proper clinical examination was done by the authors.

Results : the most frequent cause of proximal myopathy was found to be muscular dystrophy which accounted for 30 % of the cases, followed by myasthenia gravis 20 %, polymyositis and dermatomyositis 14 %, Guillain Barre 8 %, diabetes mellitus 5 %, connective tissue diseases 5 %, thyrotoxicosis 3 %, chronic renal failure 3 %, malignancy 2 %, drugs (steroids alcohol 2 %.

Spinal muscular atrophy, hypokalaemia, and hypocalcaemia each accounted for 1 %.

Conclusion : the study showed that the incidence of proximal myopathy is more common among females.

Proximal muscle weakness involved the lower limbs more than the upper limbs.