ABSTRACT
Fry calculated that epilepsy and syncope accounted for 20 consultations per 2000 patients per annum.2 In a recently published community-based study,3 the age-and sexadjusted incidence rate for epilepsy (including single seizures) was 57 per 100,000, which is very close to the figure that Fry quoted (1-2 per 2000) for annual incidence. In outpatient neurological practice, epilepsy (including single seizures) and syncopal attacks account for 12.5 per cent of all consultations.4 There are no data indicating how often delirium (assuming one can agree on the criteria for its diagnosis) is encountered in general practice, although it is suggested that 10-25 per cent of patients aged over 65 years admitted to general medical units suffer from ‘confusion’.14
