This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Endeshaw, Y. Articles by Haimanot, R. T. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Altered State of Consciousness in Adult Ethiopians: Analysis of Aetiological Factors

Faculty of Medicine, P.O. Box 4147, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Redda T. Haimanot, M.D., F.R.C.P. C

Faculty of Medicine, P.O. Box 4147, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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.

The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, Vol. 108, No. 5, 173-175 (1988)
DOI: 10.1177/146642408810800510


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?