| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2011 | Volume
: 14
| Issue : 1 | Page : 27-30 |
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Awareness of neurocysticercosis: A study from Northwest India
Mohit Girotra1, Chanchal Gera2, Rtika Ryfka Abraham1, Rajat Gauba1, Tino Bansal3, Parmdeep Kaur3, Yashpal Singh1, Jeyaraj D Pandian1
1 Department of Neurology, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
2 Department of Medicine, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
3 Departments of Social and Preventive Medicine and Betty Cowan Research and Innovation Centre, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Correspondence Address:
Jeyaraj D Pandian
Department of Neurology, Head of Research, Betty Cowan Research and Innovation Centre, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, Punjab - 141008
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0972-2327.78046
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Background: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a common cause of epilepsy in developing countries. In order to plan and implement prevention programs, it is essential to study the awareness of NCC. Objective: To study the awareness of NCC among patients with NCC and compare with age- and gender-matched controls without NCC. Setting and Design: Hospital based case-control study. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and fourteen subjects were studied (109 NCC patients, and 105 age- and gender-matched controls without NCC). The participants were selected from neurology and medical wards of a tertiary referral hospital in northwest India. They were interviewed by trained medical interns using a questionnaire. Results: 64.2% of the NCC patients and 19% of control group had heard about NCC (P < 0.001). Knowledge regarding organ affected by NCC in the NCC group was 61.4% and in the control group was 80% (P = 0.09). Only 12.9% of the NCC group and none in the control group identified tape worm as a causative agent for NCC (P = 0.092). Negative effects of NCC on marriage and social life were more often cited by the NCC group but in the control group it was towards education (P = 0.004). Conclusions: The awareness of NCC was poor in both the groups. Educational programs are needed to improve the awareness about NCC among the patients and the public. |
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