Table 2.
Characteristics of hospital admissions with and without acute seizures followed up for epilepsy status
| Feature | No acute seizures (N = 13,447) | Acute seizures (N = 2,991) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age: mean years (SD) | 4.9 (3.5) | 5.3 (3.4) | <0.0001 |
| Male sex (%) | 7,710 (57) | 1,608 (53) | <0.0001 |
| Child delivered at home (%) | 2,224 (16.5) | 403 (13.5) | <0.0001 |
| Paternal orphanhood (%) | 415 (3) | 83 (3) | 0.370 |
| Maternal orphanhood (%) | 219 (2) | 31 (1) | 0.017 |
| Premature birth (%) | 315/8,849 (4) | 81/2,474 (2) | 0.306 |
| Perinatal problems (%) | 330/8,495 (4) | 75/2,474 (3) | 0.048 |
| Low birth weight (%) | 145/8,484 (2) | 29/2,473 (1) | 0.060 |
| Malnutrition (WAZ < −3) (%) | 1,250 (9) | 121 (4) | <0.0001 |
| Temperature, mean (SD) | 37.7 (3.6) | 38.2 (2.0) | <0.0001 |
| Transfused (%) | 972/13,395 (7) | 162/2,984 (5) | <0.0001 |
| Agitated (%) | 280 (2) | 130 (4) | <0.0001 |
| Prostrated (%) | 462 (3) | 351 (12) | <0.0001 |
| Lethargic (%) | 1,013 (8) | 177 (6) | <0.0001 |
| General injuries/trauma (%) | 437 (3) | 18 (1) | <0.0001 |
| Immunosuppression/HIV (%) | 283 (2) | 9 (<1) | <0.0001 |
| Jaundice (%) | 601/13,441 (5) | 26/2,988 (1) | <0.0001 |
| Lymphadenopathy (%) | 297/13,401 (2) | 20/2,980 (1) | <0.0001 |
| Coma (BCS ≤ 2) (%) | 229 (2) | 411 (14) | <0.0001 |
| Clinical malaria (%) | 2,381 (18) | 1,733 (58) | <0.0001 |
| Meningitis (%) | 103 (1) | 63 (2) | <0.0001 |
| Unknown encephalopathy (%) | 34 (<1) | 71 (2) | <0.0001 |
| Cerebral palsy (%) | 25 (<1) | 5 (<1) | 0.828 |
| Anemia (<50 g/L) (%) | 1,568 (12) | 334 (11) | 0.445 |
| Gastroenteritis (%) | 2,157 (16) | 104 (3) | <0.0001 |
| Respiratory tract infections (%) | 386 (29) | 472 (16) | <0.0001 |
BCS, Blantyre Coma Score; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; SD, standard deviation; WAZ, weight for age z scores.
Following Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons in this table, a p value of 0.002 should be considered significant.