01584nas a2200193   4500000000100000008004100001653002300042653001400065653001500079653001200094653001300106100001100119700001400130700001700144245012800161050001400289520107300303022001401376       2014                            d10aPrimary healthcare10aNeurology10aMadagascar10aleprosy10aEpilepsy1 aGaud S1 aSauvée M1 aDebouverie M00aNeurologic diseases in a rural tropical area: experience at a primary health care center in the Boeny region of Madagascar.  aGAUD 20143 a<p>There is, to our knowledge, no study reporting the demand for health care related to neurological diseases in rural tropical areas of developing countries. Neurology is nonetheless more or less closely related to the priority health issues in these countries. Over a 6-week period, 626 patients were seen at the primary health center in the town of Madirovalo, Madagascar. Neurological disorders accounted for 11.1% of the consultations. The neurological disorders most frequently leading to consultations were headaches (42.7%), with primary headaches accounting for 16%; next came leprosy neuropathy (14.7%), with a worrisome total of 8 new cases; other peripheral neuropathies (13.3%), and epilepsy (12%). The relatively low share of the latter seems likely related to families' frequent use of traditional healers rather than Western medicine. Neurological diseases appears to represent a significant part of the health-care demand of people living in rural tropical areas of developing countries, and specific support in this specialization is essential.</p>
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