Neurologic infections are related to chronic and life-long neurologic impairment. We aim to describe the outcomes of Filipino children with neurologic infections upon, and within one year from discharge. This data will be useful in developing programs for the prevention and improvement of outcomes in children with neurologic infections. Methods: This is a multicenter, cross-sectional, retrospective cohort study at six tertiary hospitals across the Philippines within four years (2007-2010). A standardized report form was used to collect clinical profile and outcome using inpatient and outpatient records. Neurologic outcome was classified and staged at 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-months postdischarge. Results: A total of 480 patients were included in the analysis (mean age 4.7 ± 5.3 y), most were bacterial in etiology (275 cases, or 57.3%). Severity of illness on admission (Stage 3, p <0.001) and etiologic agent (viral, p <0.001) were correlated with poor neurologic outcome on discharge. Of the 154 patients that had follow-up, 91 cases were observed to have neurologic deficits (severe, 50; moderate, 29; and mild 12). Twenty patients had improvement of neurologic impairment on subsequent follow-up. Motor deficits (64 cases), cognitive disorders (26 cases) and seizures (17 cases) are the most common neurologic sequela

BACKGROUND: Although there are many studies on the effects of TB DOTS on the treatment outcomes of adults, there are limited studies in the pediatric population.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the treatment outcomes of pediatric PTB patients who were treated in the outpatient department (OPD) and the TB DOTS Center from January 2007 - December 2011.

METHODOLOGY: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the De La Salle University Hospital in Dasmarinas, Cavite. Charts of pediatric pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients at the OPD and TB DOTS Center from January 2007 - December 2011 were reviewed. Demographic data as well as outcomes were compared.

RESULTS: There were more patients treated for PTB at the OPD than in the DOTS, with age range between 1 -3 years old. Sixty-three percent of patients at the DOTS were initially seen by private practitioners. After two months of treatment, 98.2% of patients in DOTS and 84.1% in the OPD were still compliant. The difference in percentage of patients with weight gain, relief of fever, and improved general well-being after two months between DOTS and OPD were statistically insignificant. However, the percentage of patients with relief from cough after two months of treatment was significantly higher in DOTS versus the OPD. The treatment success at the DOTS is significantly higher than in the OPD (95.4% versus 54.2%), with an approximately 1.8x times likelihood of successful treatment.

CONCLUSION: Patients at the DOTS who had cough were more likely to improve than in the OPD. The percentage of patients who defaulted after two months of treatment increased in the OPD. At the end of six months, the TB DOTS had better percentage of successful treatment.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Child Preschool ; Infant ; Tuberculosis-diagnosis, therapy, therapeutics ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Upon accepting the invitation to participate in the 2003 National Nutrition Health Survey (NNHeS), the Philippine Neurological Association (PNA), through its research committee, decided to create and validate a questionnaire to determine the prevalences for stroke, Parkinsonism, dementia, migraine and epilepsy. This first of a two-part paper describes the validation of the 10 item PNA questionnaire.

METHODOLOGY: The five participating PNA councils contributed two questions that they believed were best able to capture the presence of the particular disease of their interest. These questions taken together formed the ten-item PNA questionnaire. Trained interviewers administered the questionnaire in neurology out-patient clinics on consecutive patients who agreed to join the study. Using neurologists' clinical diagnosis as gold standard after a face-to-face interview with the patient, the sensitivity and specificity of each item of the questionnaire were calculated.

RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of each item of the questionnaire showed modest results. This result is understandable for neurological syndromes with different clinical presentations having different subtypes and severity.

IMPLICATIONS: The validated PNA questionnaire was submitted to become part of the NNHeS survey. (Author)

Stroke ; Dementia ; Migraine Disorders ; Parkinsonian Disorders ; Epilepsy ; Prevalence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To date, there are no national prevalence data on common neurological conditions. This study aims to determine the prevalences of stroke, parkinsonism, dementia and migraine in the Philippines derived from a population-based sampling.

METHODOLOGY: Cross-sectional study using a multistaged cluster sampling methodology was employed. The validated PNA questionnaire was incorporated into the National Nutrition Health Survey (NNHeS) together with the survey tools of the other thirteen medical societies in need of their prevalence data.

RESULTS: This study evaluated 4,753 adults aged 20 or more from 2636 households, 17 regions and 79 provinces of the Philippines. The weighted adjusted point prevalence for stroke was 1.4 percent based on a previous diagnosis of stroke. Using the PNA questionnaire, the prevalence of parkinsonism, dementia and migraine were 0.95 percent, 3.14 percent and 7.9 percent respectively. As expected, the prevalences of stroke, dementia, parkinsonism increased with advancing age. There was a female predominance in all the four conditions.

IMPLICATIONS: These prevalence data would give clinicians and policy makers an estimate of how frequent these five common neurological illnesses affect the Filipino adult population. This knowledge is important for health planning, prioritization of health projects and as baseline for future prevalence studies. (Author)

Stroke ; Dementia ; Migraine Disorders ; Parkinsonism Disorders ; Epilepsy ; Prevalence ; Cross-sectional Studies