PREVALENCE OF EPILEPSY - A DOOR-TO-DOOR SURVEY IN THE SICILIAN COMMUNITY OF RIPOSTO

In a door-to-door survey of common neurological disorders in Sicily (S NES Project), bye administered a screening symptoms questionnaire and a brief neurological examination to detect epileptic patients. All of the subjects effectively resident in the community of Riposto on 1 Nov ember 1987 (prevalence day) were investigated (n = 9956). The subjects with a positive questionnaire or a previous diagnosis of epilepsy wer e extensively examined by a neurologist and then definitively classifi ed for epilepsy by a panel of senior neurologists. The crude prevalenc e of active and non-active epilepsy was 3.21/1000; the prevalence of a ctive epilepsy alone was 2.71/1000. Of the 27 active cases, sixteen we re affected by generalized tonic-clonic seizures, four by absences and four by complex partial attacks. All except two were being treated wi th antiepileptic drugs, most with phenobarbital. Our prevalence rate i s lower than that reported by most authors, but similar to the rates i n other Sicilian communities.