Altered State of Consciousness in Adult Ethiopians: Analysis of Aetiological Factors
Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 1988 DOI: 10.1177/146642408810800510 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Prospective study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 300 |
| Population | Patients admitted to medical wards with altered state of consciousness at Tikur Anbessa University Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Key points | Hepatic encephalopathy was the most common cause of altered state of consciousness, and the mortality rate was 57.7%. |
Abstract
A PROSPECTIVE STUDY to determine the rela tive incidence of diseases causing altered state of consciousness in patients admitted to the medi cal wards of the Tikur Anbessa University Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was undertaken. 300 consecutive patients with altered state of consciousness were included in the study. The majority of patients were below 40 years of age. The causes for altered state of consciousness were metabolic in 125 (41.7%), infectious in 101 (33.7%) and neurological diseases in 64 (21.3%) patients. Hepatic encephalopathy, found in 74 patients (24.7%) was by far the commonest medical cause of altered state of consciousness. In 10 patients (3.3%) no definite diagnosis could be reached. 173 (57.7%) patients died. The age and disease patterns were found to be different from those seen in Europe and North America.