title: Telemedicine for patients with epilepsy: a pilot experience.
abstract: We aimed to describe our preliminary experience with the telemedicine (TM) seizure clinic. A retrospective database analysis for the TM seizure visits between January 2009 and January 2012 was performed. Each subject's age, gender, epilepsy syndrome, seizure types, and outcome were identified. The antiepileptic drug (AED) regimen at each visit was noted, as well as instances where surgical therapies and admission for monitoring were discussed. We identified a total of 74 encounters with 24 patients. Fifteen subjects (62.5%) had focal epilepsy, whereas seven (29%) had generalized epilepsy. Seven patients (29%) experienced one seizure type, 14 (58.5%) had two seizure types, and five (12.5%) had three or more seizure types. Thirty-two out of the 74 encounters (43%) resulted in some change in the AED regimen. Surgical therapeutic options were discussed in 35% of the visits. Two-thirds of subjects were either seizure-free or improved by the last encounter. The no-show rate was only 11%. We were able to deliver follow-up care through a TM model to patients with epilepsy with a wide spectrum of syndromes and severity. We believe that TM improves access to specialized care for patients with epilepsy living in rural areas.
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Education City, PO Box 24144, Doha, Qatar. Electronic address: nah2003@qatar-med.cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Naim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.affiliation: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W Markham St, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. Electronic address: ILGrant@uams.edu.
authors.forename: Irish
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W Markham St, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. Electronic address: eswaranhari@uams.edu.
authors.forename: Hari
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eswaran
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012640:Seizures / Q000628:therapy; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants
keywords: Epilepsy; Rural; Seizure; Telemedicine