Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Oct 2020
ReviewBridging the healthcare gap: Building the case for epilepsy virtual clinics in the current healthcare environment.
Access to quality healthcare remains a challenge that is complicated by mounting pressures to control costs, and now, as we witness, the unprecedented strain placed on our healthcare delivery systems due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges in healthcare access have driven a need for innovative approaches ensuring connectivity to health providers. Telehealth services and virtual clinics offer accessible disease management pathways for patients living in health resource limited areas or, as in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, where there may be potential barriers to existing healthcare resources. ⋯ By moving the diagnostic process out of the hospital or epilepsy center, it becomes possible to overcome growing gaps in neurology services. Virtual clinics have the potential to expand access to high-quality, cost-effective care for the patient. The virtual clinic remotely connects those in need of medical support with specialists anywhere in the world, at any time of the day.
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Oct 2020
ReviewTelehealth in pediatric epilepsy care: A rapid transition during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Telehealth's first literature reference is an article in 1879 in the Lancet about using the telephone to reduce unnecessary office visits (Institute of Medicine & Board on Health Care Services, 2012). However, providers have been slow to adopt telehealth into their clinical practice secondary to barriers such as cost and reimbursement (Kane and Gillis, 2018) [2]. ⋯ The goal of this paper is to provide a practical framework for translating quality care in epilepsy as defined by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) guidelines into a virtual care environment. We will also discuss the use and limitations of point of care testing in epilepsy management.
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Oct 2020
Awareness of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy among parents of children with epilepsy in a tertiary center.
Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the second leading neurological cause of potential years of lifelost after stroke. Despite growing numbers of studies on social aspects of epilepsy, there is a paucity of research on the awareness of SUDEP among the parents of children with epilepsy (CWE), especially in Turkey. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the knowledge of parents of the CWE regarding SUDEP in the tertiary setting. ⋯ Our data suggest that knowledge about SUDEP among parents with CWE found inadequate in Turkey. There should be much effort to inform parents and caregivers in epilepsy clinics on SUDEP, which may help to reduce the associated risk factors.
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Oct 2020
Comparative StudyVagus nerve stimulation with tachycardia detection provides additional seizure reduction compared to traditional vagus nerve stimulation.
This study investigates the clinical and cost effectiveness of switching from traditional vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) to responsive VNS (rVNS), which has an additional ictal tachycardia detection and stimulation (AutoStim) mode. ⋯ Ictal tachycardia detection and stimulation provided a significant clinical benefit in patients who were not free of disabling seizures with treatment from traditional VNS. There was no additional increase in healthcare costs during the first year after device replacement.