Caregiver perceptions of seizure severity in pediatric epilepsy.
OBJECTIVE
Seizure severity has been investigated using multiple tools over the years, and its defining features continue to be debated. Severity ratings are necessary for medical, psychological, and epidemiologic investigations. Adults with epilepsy have been evaluated more than youth with epilepsy.


METHODS
Seizure severity was evaluated as part of a larger study that included youth and caregiver self-report measures of the emotional and social variables that occur in epilepsy.


RESULTS
The results indicate that a longer recovery time from the last seizure and a longer duration of seizure influence how severe a caregiver judges seizures. The usual elements such as type of epilepsy, frequency of seizures, and most recent seizure were not significantly related to severity rating. Behavior ratings were also not related to severity rating.


CONCLUSIONS
Clinicians often rely heavily on caregiver information during clinic visits to help inform treatment decisions; therefore, a standard measure of seizure severity from the caregivers' perception has clinical utility. Rather than assuming what makes a seizure severe to a parent, more research should be conducted on what elements contribute to severity, as judged by both the parent and youth.
Wagner
Janelle L
JL
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Nursing, & Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425-5670, USA. wagnerjl@musc.edu
Smith
Gigi M
GM
Ferguson
Pamela L
PL
Wannamaker
Braxton B
BB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012648:Self Care; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires