title: Psychiatric disorders as "hidden" contraindications for presurgical VEEG in patients with refractory epilepsy: A retrospective cohort study in a tertiary center.
abstract: Given the high frequency of psychiatric disorders (PDs) observed among patients with epilepsy, studies have highlighted the necessity of psychiatric evaluation for these patients, especially for those with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy with mesial temporal sclerosis (TLE-MTS) who are surgical candidates. Current evidence highlights the safety of video-electroencephalography (VEEG) as a means of investigation in patients with TLE-MTS and PDs. However, the presence of such disorders has still been seen as a contraindication for presurgical evaluation with VEEG in some epilepsy centers mainly because of the risk of negative behavioral events. The present retrospective cohort study performed in a Brazilian tertiary epilepsy center aimed to identify whether the presence of a PD remains a contraindication for presurgical VEEG. Clinical, sociodemographic, and psychiatric data from 41 patients who underwent VEEG as part of their presurgical evaluation were compared to data from 32 patients with refractory TLE-MTS who had not undergone VEEG. Psychiatric diagnoses were determined using the DSM-IV and ILAE criteria. Psychiatric disorders were diagnosed in 34 patients (46.6%). Major depressive disorder was the most frequent PD and was observed in 22 patients (30.1%). Anxiety disorders were observed in 14 patients (19.2%). Of the 41 patients (56.2%) who underwent presurgical VEEG, only 12 (29.2%) were found to have a PD during the presurgical psychiatric evaluation compared to 22 of the 32 (68.7%) who did not undergo VEEG (p=0.001; RR=2.35). The present findings suggest that the presence of a PD alone should not be a contraindication for VEEG monitoring and epilepsy surgery.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: filho.gerardo@gmail.com.
authors: Gerardo Maria
authors: GM
authors: de Araujo Filho
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Ana Eliza Romano
authors: AE
authors: Furlan
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Ana Elisa Sa Antunes
authors: AE
authors: Ribeiro
authors: Department of Neurological Sciences, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Lucia Helena Neves
authors: LH
authors: Marques
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D001938:Brazil; D015331:Cohort Studies; D000075202:Contraindications; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D000069279:Drug Resistant Epilepsy / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Psychiatric evaluation; Psychiatric issues; Refractory epilepsy; VEEG monitoring