ArticleBMC medical imaging2026
Age-specific MRI patterns in pediatric epilepsy: insights from a sudanese cohort and implications for low-resources settings.
Article in BMC medical imaging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveEpilepsy is a global health problem affecting the quality of life of many children. Neuroimaging, particularly Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), plays a crucial role in precisely identifying epileptogenic foci that are potentially amenable to surgical resection for a possible cure. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic yield of MRI in a Sudanese pediatric epilepsy cohort and to identify age-specific neuroimaging patterns to optimize resource allocation in low-income settings.
methodsA descriptive cross-sectional study enrolled 100 pediatric patients (≤ 17 years) diagnosed with epilepsy from June 2023 to June 2024. Data on age, gender, and MRI findings were collected and analyzed using SPSS v26.0. Chi-square tests assessed univariate associations, and multivariate logistic regression evaluated the combined impact of age and gender on abnormal MRI findings, with significance set at P < 0.05.
resultsOf 100 patients (55% male, 45% female), 87% were aged 1-12 years. MRI abnormalities were detected in 31%, with mesial temporal sclerosis (35.4%) most frequent, followed by brain atrophy and periventricular leukomalacia (16% each). Age was significantly associated with abnormalities (P = 0.002), with higher odds in < 1-year-olds (OR = 9.35, 95% CI: 1.67-52.41, P = 0.011) and 13-17-year-olds (OR = 14.20, 95% CI: 1.47-137.32, P = 0.021) compared to 1-6-year-olds. Specific findings varied by age: periventricular leukomalacia in < 1-year-olds, atrophy in 1-6 years, mesial temporal sclerosis in 7-12 years, and tumors in 13-17 years (P < 0.002). Gender showed no significant effect (OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.32-1.71, P = 0.480).
conclusionApproximately one-third of children with epilepsy showed MRI abnormalities, most commonly mesial temporal sclerosis. Abnormal MRI results were notably linked to patient age, particularly those under one year old and between 13 and 17 years old. Age-specific MRI protocols could enhance diagnostic efficiency in low-resources settings. These findings support for prioritized neuroimaging in infants and adolescents, informing public health strategies to address Sudan's epilepsy burden. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.