Diagnostic Utility of an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2007
Abstract
Guidelines recommend that patients with persist- ent seizures not responsive to standard antiepileptic drugs after 1 year be referred to specialized epilepsy centers for evaluation, which may include inpatient video-electroencephalographic monitoring. This 1-year retrospective, limited-focus review of 213 admissions and 3-year postdischarge review of epilepsy surgery referrals sought to determine if admission to an inpatient adult epilepsy monitoring unit resulted in a definitive diagnosis, a change in diagnosis or treatment, and whether referral pat- terns were consistent with guidelines. The median duration of time since symptom onset prior to admis- sion was 15 years. At discharge, 87.8% of admissions received a definitive diagnosis. Epilepsy was diag- nosed in 73.3% and excluded in 21.6%. Admissions without epilepsy had been treated with antiepileptic drugs for a median of 9 years. Admission resulted in change in treatment in 79%. This review documents the diagnostic utility of an epilepsy monitoring unit while highlighting that time since symptom onset to admission exceeded established guidelines.
DOI
10.1177/1062860606298295
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Smolowitz, Janice; Hopkins, Sarah C.; Perrine, Tracey; Eck, Karen E.; Hirsch, Lawrence J.; and Mundinger, Mary O.Neil, "Diagnostic Utility of an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit" (2007). School of Nursing Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 18.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/nursing-facpubs/18