142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

311735
Reducing Disability among Epilepsy Patients: Early Referral for Surgery in Medically Intractable Epilepsy

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Remi Okwechime, M.B.CH.B., M.P.H. , Department of Infection Control, Riverside County Regional Medical Center, Moreno Valley, CA
Introduction: Epilepsy is a disabling neurological disorder that is found in 0.5-1% of the population (Zupanc, Werner, Schwabe, O’Connor, Marcuccilli,  Hecox, et al., 2010). The concept of surgery as a possible cure for epilepsy has gradually been introduced into the medical field over the past 10 years however physicians tend to resort to surgery as a last resort which may be too late for some (Passaro, 2011). Many patients who suffer from epilepsy cannot drive until they are seizure free; 20-30% are not seizure free even after being placed on a number of antiepileptic drugs (Zupanc et al., 2010).

Goals and Objectives: This project aims to identify how early patients with medically intractable epilepsy should be referred for surgery and list recommendations for both health care providers and patients.

Evaluation tools and Methodology: A survey using a Likert scale comprising of questions rated on a scale of one to five will be administered to epilepsy patients and healthcare providers rating Epilepsy surgery and temporal lobe epilepsy and its role in reducing disability. The results will then be collated and analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to yield the outcome.

Recommendations: If two first-line anti-epileptic drugs have been used for a patient with no signs of improvement the chances that an additional anti-epileptic drug would cure the individual are as low as 5 – 10 % (Passaro, 2011). Surgery should not be a last minute decision to cure epilepsy; it should be an early intervention offered as soon as needed to epileptic patients.

Learning Areas:

Clinical medicine applied in public health
Other professions or practice related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Identify when patients with medically intractable epilepsy should be referred for surgery and list recommendations for both health care providers and patients in order to reduce disability seen among this population.

Keyword(s): Mental Health, Disabilities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I completed this project as part of my student thesis. Among my scientific interests are the advocacy for early referral for surgery in patients with medically intractable epilepsy.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.