Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Mar 2021
The relationship between duty cycle, tachycardia threshold and autostimulation delivery in cardio-responsive vagus nerve stimulation.
Many patients with epilepsy are unable to completely control seizures with medication alone. Vagus nerve stimulation is an effective nonpharmacologic option for treatment-resistant epilepsy. AutoStim technology is a relatively new VNS feature that provides extra stimulations in response to tachycardia, which often precedes seizures. This feature adds a currently unknown number of extra stimulations per day. This study aims to evaluate that actual stimulations' patients receive per day as a function of varying VNS settings. ⋯ These data demonstrate the effect of duty cycle and tachycardia threshold on extra stimulations per day and demonstrated the optimal settings for reducing extra stimulations. This research provides reassurance and information to patients and providers about the actual number of stimulations patients receive with AutoStim technology.
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Mar 2021
Ambulatory care for epilepsy via telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To assess feasibility, patient satisfaction, and financial advantages of telemedicine for epilepsy ambulatory care during the current COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Our findings suggest that epilepsy care via telemedicine provided high satisfaction and economic benefit, without compromising patients' quality of care, thereby supporting the use of virtual care during current and future epidemiological fallouts. Beyond the current pandemic, patients with stable seizure symptoms may prefer to use telemedicine for their epilepsy care.
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Feb 2021
Multicenter StudyLoVE in a time of CoVID: Clinician and patient experience using telemedicine for chronic epilepsy management.
As part of our ongoing interest in patient- and family-centered care in epilepsy, we began, before the onset of the CoVID-19 pandemic, to evaluate the concerns and preferences of those delivering and receiving care via telemedicine. CoVID-19 arrived and acted as an unexpected experiment in nature, catalyzing telemedicine's widespread implementation across many disciplines of medicine. The arrival of CoVID-19 in Ireland gave us the opportunity to record these perceptions pre- and post-CoVID. ⋯ Patients reported positive experiences surrounding telephone appointments comparing them favorably to face-to-face encounters. The availability of a shared EEPR demonstrated no loss of care contact for patients with epilepsy. The survey showed that telemedicine is seen as an effective and satisfactory method of delivering chronic outpatient care.
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Feb 2021
Clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities for people with epilepsy.
In this cohort study, we aim to compare outcomes from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people with severe epilepsy and other co-morbidities living in long-term care facilities which all implemented early preventative measures, but different levels of surveillance. During 25-week observation period (16 March-6 September 2020), we included 404 residents (118 children), and 1643 caregivers. We compare strategies for infection prevention, control, and containment, and related outcomes, across four UK long-term care facilities. ⋯ We observed a low rate of morbidity and mortality, which confirmed that preventative measures with isolation of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 residents can reduce resident-to-resident and resident-to-caregiver transmission. Children and young adults appear to have lower infection rates. Even in people with epilepsy and multiple co-morbidities, we observed a high percentage of asymptomatic people suggesting that epilepsy-related factors (anti-seizure medications and seizures) do not necessarily lead to poor outcomes.
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Feb 2021
Recalling the COVID-19 lockdown: Insights from patients with epilepsy.
The purpose of our study was to explore health changes among people with epilepsy (PWE) during a national COVID-19 lockdown in the context of patients' clinical characteristics and their experience of receiving epilepsy-related medical services. ⋯ Our study indicates that a national COVID-19 lockdown may have led to worse seizure control and health status in some PWE. Easy access to AEDs and their appropriate use may be especially useful to prevent seizure exacerbation during strict COVID-19 restrictions. The quality and accessibility of remote epilepsy-related consultations was suboptimal and may require further improvement during disruption of in-person services.