Epilepsy care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Journal: Epilepsia
Volume: 62
Issue: 10
Year of Publication: 2021
Affiliated Institutions:
Programme of Developmental Neurosciences, UCL NIHR BRC Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London and Young Epilepsy Lingfield, London, UK.
Division of Health Outcomes and Knowledge Translation Research, Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Epilepsy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, and Maternal and Child Health, Pediatric Neurology and Muscular Diseases Unit, IRCCS 'G. Gaslini' Institute, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Epilepsy Unit. Department of Neurology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Health Research Institute "San Carlos" (IdISCC), Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Moscow Research and Clinical Center for Neuropsychiatry, Moscow, Russia.
Executive Director, International League Against Epilepsy, Flower Mound, TX, USA.
Department of Epilepsy, Movement Disorders and Physiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Neurology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Epilepsy Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
Neuroscience Research Laboratory, Marrakech Medical School, University Cadi Ayyad, Marrakesh, Morocco.
Division of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology, Department of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
Neuroscience Department, Faculty of Medicine, Xavierian University, and Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá D. C, Colombia.
Neurology division, Medicine Department, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Kwara State, Nigeria.
Department of Neurology, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Christian-Doppler University Hospital, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Abstract summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the care of all patients around the world. The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) COVID-19 and Telemedicine Task Forces examined, through surveys to people with epilepsy (PWE), caregivers, and health care professionals, how the pandemic has affected the well-being, care, and services for PWE. The ILAE included a link on their website whereby PWE and/or their caregivers could fill out a survey (in 11 languages) about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including access to health services and impact on mental health, including the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. An anonymous link was also provided whereby health care providers could report cases of new-onset seizures or an exacerbation of seizures in the context of COVID-19. Finally, a separate questionnaire aimed at exploring the utilization of telehealth by health care professionals since the pandemic began was available on the ILAE website and also disseminated to its members. Seventeen case reports were received; data were limited and therefore no firm conclusions could be drawn. Of 590 respondents to the well-being survey (422 PWE, 166 caregivers), 22.8% PWE and 27.5% caregivers reported an increase in seizure frequency, with difficulty in accessing medication and health care professionals reported as barriers to care. Of all respondents, 57.1% PWE and 21.5% caregivers had severe psychological distress (k score >13), which was significantly higher among PWE than caregivers (p<0.01). An increase in telemedicine use during the COVID-19 pandemic was reported by health care professionals, with 40% of consultations conducted by this method. Although 74.9% of health care providers thought that this impacted positively, barriers to care were also identified. As we move forward, there is a need to ensure ongoing support and care for PWE to prevent a parallel pandemic of unmet health care needs.
Authors & Co-authors:
Cross J Helen JH
Kwon Churl-Su CS
Asadi-Pooya Ali Akbar AA
Balagura Ganna G
Gómez-Iglesias Patricia P
Guekht Alla A
Hall Julie J
Ikeda Akio A
Kishk Nirmeen A NA
Murphy Peter P
Kissani Najib N
Naji Yahya Y
Perucca Emilio E
Pérez-Poveda Juan Carlos JC
Sanya Emmanuel O EO
Trinka Eugen E
Zhou Dong D
Wiebe Samuel S
Jette Nathalie N
Study Outcome
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