Background. The characteristics of epilepsy such as the episodic nature of impairment of consciousness and motor control,\npsychomotor comorbidity, seizure frequency, and side effects of antiepileptic drugs impact negatively on the physical safety of\nthe patients. Physical injuries such as burn, fracture, dental loss, and hemorrhage affect the quality of patients� life to the extent of\ndeath.Thus, themain purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of physical injury and associated factors among people with\nepilepsy. Methods.Thestudy was carried out among 409 people with epilepsy. Cross-sectional study design was utilized to enroll the\nselected study participants using systematic random sampling technique. Binary and multivariable logistic regression were fitted\nto identify associated factors using an odds ratio and 95% CI. Results. The overall estimated prevalence of seizure-related physical\ninjury was found to be 27.9%. Of the 27.9% seizure-related physical injuries, 12.5% had abrasions, 5.9% had burns, 4.4% had dental\ninjuries, 2.2% had fractures, and 1.5% had head injuries and dislocations, respectively. Employment, 2-3 years duration of illness,\nseizure frequencies, and frequencies of drug taken were factors associated with physical injury. Conclusion. More than a quarter of\nthe study participants experienced physical injury. Designing/strengthening injury prevention strategies is suggested especially for\nthose who had uncontrolled seizure frequency for longer period of time.
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