title: Profile of neurological admissions at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The burden of Neurological diseases may be on the increase especially in developing countries. Improved outcome in these settings may require appreciation of the spectrum of Neurological diseases and the impediments to their management. We aim to determine the profile of neurological admissions and the challenges of managing these diseases at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu South East Nigeria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of Neurological admissions into the medical wards of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu from January 2003 to December 2007.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neurological admissions comprise about 14.8% of medical admissions. There were 640 (51%) males and 609 (49%) females. The spectrum of neurological diseases were stroke 64.9%, central nervous system infections (21.8% ), HIV related neurological diseases 3.5%, hypertensive encephalopathy (3.4%), dementia (3%), subarachnoid haemorrhage (2.2%), Guillian Barre syndrome (1.2%), Parkinson's disease (1.1%), myasthenia gravis (1.0%), motor neurone disease and peripheral neuropathy and accounted for 0.8% and 0.6% respectively. Overall, noninfectious disease accounted for 78.2% of neurological admissions while infectious diseases accounted for 11.8%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A wide spectrum of neurological diseases occurs in our setting. The high incidence of CNS infections indicates that efforts should be geared towards preventive measures. A major challenge to be addressed in the management of neurological diseases in our setting is the lack of specialized facilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, Nigeria, PMB 01129 Enugu. ekenze2001@yahoo.com
authors.forename: O S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Ekenze
authors.forename: I O
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Onwuekwe
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Ezeala Adikaibe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult