Epidemiology and etiology of intractable epilepsy in Qatar

Abstract EN

The medical records of219 epileptic patients seen over a period of eight years were reviewed to determine the in-cidence and causes ofintractable epilepsy amongst adults in Qatar.

The incidence rate of hospital admission with uncontrolled epilepsy was calculated as 25per 100, 000per-sons.

Thirty-nine patients (18 %) fulfilled the criteria for and the incidence of IE could he approximated at 4.5 per 100,000 persons.

In the native Qatari population the approximated incidence of IE would he / in 100,000 per-sons per year, while in the expatriate population the rate would be 3.

5 per 100,000 persons per year.

The most com-mon type of IE was idiopathic generalized epilepsy (75 %) followed by symptomatic epilepsy (19 %) and temporal lobe epilepsy (6 %).

To calculate the crude incidence ofepilepsy in Qatar, the records were reviewed of 1217patients (aged 13-85 years) visiting the outpatient department or admit-ted to hospital because of a newly diagnosed epilepsy dur-ing the calendar year, 1st January-3lst December 2001.

These figures were extrapolated to an approximation of an incidence of 174 in 100,000 persons per year.