Table 1.
Demographics and clinical characteristics of HIV-positive adults with new-onset seizure (n = 95)
| Demographic | |
| Gender, female n (%) | 41 (43) |
| Age, mean (SD) | 36.9 (10.2) |
| Family history of epilepsy n (%) | 11 (12) |
| History of head injury n (%) | 2 (2) |
| History of severe malaria n (%) | 6 (6) |
| History of meningitis/encephalitis n (%) | 7 (7) |
| History of coma n (%) | 1 (1) |
| History of opportunistic infection (n = 94)a n (%) | 5 (5) |
| History of stroke (n = 94) a n (%) | 4 (4) |
| Clinical | |
| Seizure type n (%) | |
| Focal clonic | 13 (14) |
| Focal onset to bilateral tonic-clonic | 33 (35) |
| Tonic clonic | 1 (1) |
| Unknown onset bilateral tonic-clonic | 42 (44) |
| Unclassified | 6 (6) |
| Presenting seizure severity n (%)b | |
| Status epilepticus | 50 (53) |
| Glasgow Coma Score, mean (SD) | 14.3 (1.9) |
| Karnofsky score < 50 at enrollment n (%) | 16 (17) |
| WHO clinical stage n (%)a | |
| I or II | 12 (13) |
| III or IV | 81 (85) |
| Current cART use n (%) | |
| Yes, less than a year | 13 (14) |
| Yes, more than a year | 17 (18) |
| No, defaulted | 7 (7) |
| No, never | 58 (61) |
| CD4+ T-cell count at enrolment, mean cells/mm3(n = 89) a (SD) | 179 (185) |
| Underlying seizure etiology c | |
| CNS opportunistic infection n (%) | 21 (22) |
| Other infection n (%) | 8 (8) |
| Structural lesion n (%) | 25 (26) |
| Hyponatremia (n = 91) n (%) | 47 (49) |
| Likely secondary to another etiology | 17/47 (36) |
| Unknown, n (%) | 20 (21) |
Data is presented as number (%), mean (SD), or median (IQR), as appropriate. WHO World Health Organization, cART combination antiretroviral therapy, CNS central nervous system. aPatient unable to provide information. bMissing data for 6 participants cMore than one seizure etiology possible