Door-to-door survey of major neurological diseases in rural Ecuador--the Atahualpa Project: methodological aspects.

We carried out a door-to-door survey to assess the prevalence, incidence, risk factors and possible etiology of major neurological diseases in Atahualpa, a rural village located in the coastal region of Ecuador. A total of 2,548 individuals were interviewed with standardized screening questionnaires to detect suspected cases of epilepsy, stroke and dementia, and they underwent a serum immunoblot test for the detection of anticysticercal antibodies (phase I). Positive individuals and a random sample of negative subjects were examined by neurologists (phase II). Then, patients with clinically confirmed disease and a control group of healthy subjects were further evaluated with complementary examinations (phase III). Here, we describe the methodology of this field study that may be used as a model for the evaluation of neurological disorders in rural communities of developing countries.