Objective:

To characterize the care activity in the neurology outpatient clinic of the Marcos Vinicio Iza Hospital in the province of Sucumbíos, Ecuador.

Patients and methods:

Cross-sectional descriptive observational study, which included patients seen in a first general neurology consultation, between the months of June to November 2022. The variables analyzed included demographic data, related to healthcare activity and clinics. Results were compared between sexes and are shown by age group.

Results:

733 patients were included in the study; the mean age was 35 years (SD ± 25.27) with a predominance of males (p 0.008). Most of the patients were of Ecuadorian nationality, followed by Colombians. 84% patients were referred from the primary level of care by family physicians, followed by internal medicine (7%) and pediatrics (6%) from the hospital. The main diagnostic categories treated were epilepsy (24.8%), headache (22.2%) and neurodevelopmental disorders (21.1%).

Conclusion:

The population we assist has specific characteristics. In our case we function as a consultant to other specialties, mainly Family Medicine. The greater frequency of patients with epilepsy and neuropediatric diseases requires changes in the provision of human resources and diagnosis to demand from the health authorities.