Impact of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures on epilepsy presurgical investigation and surgical outcomes. 2015

Kimberley Whitehead, and Suzanne O'Sullivan, and Matthew Walker
Sir Jules Thorn Telemetry Unit, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London WC1N 3BG, UK. Electronic address: Kimberley.Whitehead@uclh.nhs.uk.

BACKGROUND We sought to determine the percentage of patients undergoing presurgical assessment that had both psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNESs) and epileptic seizures (ESs) captured within our telemetry unit and how this affected progression to surgery and describe eventual outcomes in patients with a history of mixed PNESs/ESs who underwent surgery. METHODS To determine what happened to patients who had PNESs recorded during a presurgical workup, we reviewed the records of 725 patients admitted to our telemetry unit for presurgical assessment between 2007 and 2013 and identified those with PNESs and ESs recorded. To determine outcomes postsurgery in operated patients who had mixed PNESs/ESs, we also reviewed the records of 519 patients who had had epilepsy surgery between 1999 and 2012 and identified those within this group who also had PNESs prior to surgery. RESULTS Nineteen of the 725 patients had PNESs captured during their presurgical telemetry along with ESs captured on either this or a previous study. Four of these patients were ultimately offered surgery. Nine of the 519 patients with a history of PNESs underwent epilepsy surgery. At 1 to 5years of follow-up (mean: 4.1years) of those nine patients, five were still having ESs and three patients had worsening or new-onset PNESs. At the last follow-up, four had had a worthwhile improvement. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that recent outcomes for people with mixed PNESs/ESs are not as promising as previously described and that PNESs should remain a relative contraindication for surgery.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011183 Postoperative Complications Pathologic processes that affect patients after a surgical procedure. They may or may not be related to the disease for which the surgery was done, and they may or may not be direct results of the surgery. Complication, Postoperative,Complications, Postoperative,Postoperative Complication
D011300 Preoperative Care Care given during the period prior to undergoing surgery when psychological and physical preparations are made according to the special needs of the individual patient. This period spans the time between admission to the hospital to the time the surgery begins. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed) Care, Preoperative,Preoperative Procedure,Preoperative Procedures,Procedure, Preoperative,Procedures, Preoperative
D005500 Follow-Up Studies Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease. Followup Studies,Follow Up Studies,Follow-Up Study,Followup Study,Studies, Follow-Up,Studies, Followup,Study, Follow-Up,Study, Followup
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012640 Seizures Clinical or subclinical disturbances of cortical function due to a sudden, abnormal, excessive, and disorganized discharge of brain cells. Clinical manifestations include abnormal motor, sensory and psychic phenomena. Recurrent seizures are usually referred to as EPILEPSY or "seizure disorder." Absence Seizure,Absence Seizures,Atonic Absence Seizure,Atonic Seizure,Clonic Seizure,Complex Partial Seizure,Convulsion,Convulsions,Convulsive Seizure,Convulsive Seizures,Epileptic Seizure,Epileptic Seizures,Generalized Absence Seizure,Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures,Jacksonian Seizure,Myoclonic Seizure,Non-Epileptic Seizure,Nonepileptic Seizure,Partial Seizure,Seizure,Seizures, Convulsive,Seizures, Focal,Seizures, Generalized,Seizures, Motor,Seizures, Sensory,Tonic Clonic Seizure,Tonic Seizure,Tonic-Clonic Seizure,Atonic Absence Seizures,Atonic Seizures,Clonic Seizures,Complex Partial Seizures,Convulsion, Non-Epileptic,Generalized Absence Seizures,Myoclonic Seizures,Non-Epileptic Seizures,Nonepileptic Seizures,Partial Seizures,Petit Mal Convulsion,Seizures, Auditory,Seizures, Clonic,Seizures, Epileptic,Seizures, Gustatory,Seizures, Olfactory,Seizures, Somatosensory,Seizures, Tonic,Seizures, Tonic-Clonic,Seizures, Vertiginous,Seizures, Vestibular,Seizures, Visual,Single Seizure,Tonic Seizures,Tonic-Clonic Seizures,Absence Seizure, Atonic,Absence Seizure, Generalized,Absence Seizures, Atonic,Absence Seizures, Generalized,Auditory Seizure,Auditory Seizures,Clonic Seizure, Tonic,Clonic Seizures, Tonic,Convulsion, Non Epileptic,Convulsion, Petit Mal,Convulsions, Non-Epileptic,Focal Seizure,Focal Seizures,Generalized Seizure,Generalized Seizures,Generalized Tonic Clonic Seizures,Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizure,Gustatory Seizure,Gustatory Seizures,Motor Seizure,Motor Seizures,Non Epileptic Seizure,Non Epileptic Seizures,Non-Epileptic Convulsion,Non-Epileptic Convulsions,Olfactory Seizure,Olfactory Seizures,Partial Seizure, Complex,Partial Seizures, Complex,Seizure, Absence,Seizure, Atonic,Seizure, Atonic Absence,Seizure, Auditory,Seizure, Clonic,Seizure, Complex Partial,Seizure, Convulsive,Seizure, Epileptic,Seizure, Focal,Seizure, Generalized,Seizure, Generalized Absence,Seizure, Generalized Tonic-Clonic,Seizure, Gustatory,Seizure, Jacksonian,Seizure, Motor,Seizure, Myoclonic,Seizure, Non-Epileptic,Seizure, Nonepileptic,Seizure, Olfactory,Seizure, Partial,Seizure, Sensory,Seizure, Single,Seizure, Somatosensory,Seizure, Tonic,Seizure, Tonic Clonic,Seizure, Tonic-Clonic,Seizure, Vertiginous,Seizure, Vestibular,Seizure, Visual,Seizures, Generalized Tonic-Clonic,Seizures, Nonepileptic,Sensory Seizure,Sensory Seizures,Single Seizures,Somatosensory Seizure,Somatosensory Seizures,Tonic Clonic Seizures,Tonic-Clonic Seizure, Generalized,Tonic-Clonic Seizures, Generalized,Vertiginous Seizure,Vertiginous Seizures,Vestibular Seizure,Vestibular Seizures,Visual Seizure,Visual Seizures
D013001 Somatoform Disorders Disorders having the presence of physical symptoms that suggest a general medical condition but that are not fully explained by another medical condition, by the direct effects of a substance, or by another mental disorder. The MEDICALLY UNEXPLAINED SYMPTOMS must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning. In contrast to FACTITIOUS DISORDERS and MALINGERING, the physical symptoms are not under voluntary control. (APA, DSM-V) Briquet Syndrome,Pain Disorder,Somatization Disorder,Medically Unexplained Syndrome,Medically Unexplained Syndromes,Disorder, Somatoform,Somatization Disorders,Somatoform Disorder,Syndrome, Briquet,Syndrome, Medically Unexplained,Unexplained Syndrome, Medically
D015897 Comorbidity The presence of co-existing or additional diseases with reference to an initial diagnosis or with reference to the index condition that is the subject of study. Comorbidity may affect the ability of affected individuals to function and also their survival; it may be used as a prognostic indicator for length of hospital stay, cost factors, and outcome or survival.
D016896 Treatment Outcome Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series. Rehabilitation Outcome,Treatment Effectiveness,Clinical Effectiveness,Clinical Efficacy,Patient-Relevant Outcome,Treatment Efficacy,Effectiveness, Clinical,Effectiveness, Treatment,Efficacy, Clinical,Efficacy, Treatment,Outcome, Patient-Relevant,Outcome, Rehabilitation,Outcome, Treatment,Outcomes, Patient-Relevant,Patient Relevant Outcome,Patient-Relevant Outcomes
D017211 Treatment Failure A measure of the quality of health care by assessment of unsuccessful results of management and procedures used in combating disease, in individual cases or series. Failure, Treatment,Failures, Treatment,Treatment Failures

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