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Kanner AM, Carrazana E, Munger Clary HM, Rabinowicz AL, Faught E. Anticipatory anxiety of seizures in epilepsy: A common, complex, and underrecognized phenomenon? Epileptic Disord 2024; 26:273-281. [PMID: 38624139 DOI: 10.1002/epd2.20224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
The diagnosis of epilepsy is associated with loss of predictability, which invariably results in the fear of when and if future seizures will occur. For a subset of patients with epilepsy (PWE), there may be a pathological persistent fear of seizure occurrence, resulting in limitations to daily activities through avoidant behaviors. Paradoxically, the research of anticipatory anxiety of seizures (AAS; also referred to as seizure phobia) has been practically nonexistent and, not surprisingly, this condition remains underrecognized by clinicians. The available data are derived from three small case series of patients followed in tertiary epilepsy centers. In this study, we review the available data on the reported clinical manifestations of AAS in PWE, and of the potential role of variables associated with it, such as personal and family psychosocial and psychiatric history and epilepsy-related variables. In addition, we review the need for the creation of screening tools to identify patients at risk of AAS and discuss potential treatment strategies, which could be considered as part of the comprehensive management for PWE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andres M Kanner
- Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Enrique Carrazana
- Neurelis, Inc., San Diego, California, USA
- John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
| | - Heidi M Munger Clary
- Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Edward Faught
- Emory Epilepsy Program, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Yin X, Niu S, Yu Q, Xuan Y, Feng X. Fear of disease in patients with epilepsy - a network analysis. Front Neurol 2024; 15:1285744. [PMID: 38515450 PMCID: PMC10954812 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1285744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Disease-related fear among patients with epilepsy has significantly impacted their quality of life. The Disease-Related Fear Scale (D-RFS), comprising three dimensions, serves as a relatively well-established tool for assessing fear in these patients. However, certain problems potentially exist within the D-RFS's attribution of items, and its internal structure is still unclear. To establish an appropriate dimensional structure and gain deeper comprehension of its internal structure-particularly its core variables-is vital for developing more effective interventions aimed at alleviating disease-related fear among patients with epilepsy. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional survey involving 609 patients with epilepsy. All participants underwent assessment using the Chinese version of the D-RFS. We used exploratory network analysis to discover a new structure and network analysis to investigate the interrelationships among fear symptom domains. In addition to the regularized partial correlation network, we also estimated the node and bridge centrality index to identify the importance of each item within the network. Finally, it was applied to analyze the differences in network analysis outcomes among epilepsy patients with different seizure frequencies. Results The research findings indicate that nodes within the network of disease-related fear symptoms are interconnected, and there are no isolated nodes. Nodes within groups 3 and 4 present the strongest centrality. Additionally, a tight interconnection exists among fear symptoms within each group. Moreover, the frequency of epileptic episodes does not significantly impact the network structure. Conclusion In this study, a new 5-dimension structure was constructed for D-RFS, and the fear of disease in patients with epilepsy has been conceptualized through a network perspective. The goal is to identify potential targets for relevant interventions and gain insights for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Xiuqin Feng
- Nursing Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine (SAHZU), Hangzhou, China
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Wheless JW, Gidal B, Rabinowicz AL, Carrazana E. Practical Questions About Rescue Medications for Acute Treatment of Seizure Clusters in Children and Adolescents with Epilepsy in the USA: Expanding Treatment Options to Address Unmet Needs. Paediatr Drugs 2024; 26:49-57. [PMID: 37902940 PMCID: PMC10769986 DOI: 10.1007/s40272-023-00601-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Epilepsy is a common pediatric neurological condition, affecting approximately 470,000 children in the USA and having a prevalence of 0.9% in the global population of approximately 2.6 billion children. Epilepsy is associated with disruptions in several areas of a child's life, including medical burden, quality of life, cognitive outcomes, and higher risk of mortality. Additionally, some pediatric patients may experience acute seizure emergencies such as seizure clusters (also called acute repetitive seizures), which are intermittent increases in seizure activity that differ from the patient's usual seizure pattern and may occur despite daily antiseizure drug administration. Seizure clusters increase a patient's risk for status epilepticus and emergency room visits. Benzodiazepines are the main category of drugs used as acute seizure therapies for seizure clusters. This narrative review provides a practical discussion of care for pediatric patients with epilepsy and seizure clusters exploring such topics as details about the US Food and Drug Administration-approved acute seizure therapies, safety and ease of use of these medications, benefits of seizure action plans to help ensure optimal treatment, and considerations for transitioning a pediatric patient with acute seizure therapy to adult healthcare management.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Wheless
- Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA.
| | - Barry Gidal
- School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | - Enrique Carrazana
- John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
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Roghani A, Bouldin E, Mobasher H, Kalvesmaki A, Panahi S, Henion A, VanCott A, Raquel Lopez M, Jo Pugh M. COVID-19 pandemic experiences among people with epilepsy: Effect on symptoms of co-occurring health conditions and fear of seizure. Epilepsy Behav 2023; 144:109206. [PMID: 37236022 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2023.109206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic profoundly affected people worldwide, but little is known about how it impacted people with epilepsy (PWE). We examined the associations between COVID-19 stressors and health outcomes including increases in other health symptoms and fear of seizure among PWE. METHODS This cross-sectional study used data from an online survey that asked about demographic characteristics, health conditions, and potential life stressors during COVID-19. Data were collected from October 30 to December 8, 2020. COVID-19 stressors were anger, anxiety, stress, healthcare access, fear of seeking healthcare, social isolation, sense of control over their lives, and alcohol consumption. A binary variable was created for each of these measures to indicate whether PWEs experienced a negative change versus a neutral or positive change. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess the associations of COVID-19 stressors with primary outcomes: exacerbated co-occurring health conditions and increasing fear of seizure during the pandemic. RESULTS Of the 260 PWE included in the study, 165 (63.5%) were women; the average age was 38.7 years. During the survey administration period, 79 (30.3%) of the respondents reported exacerbated co-occurring health conditions, and 94 (36.2%) reported an increased fear of seizures. Regression results indicated that the fear of seeking healthcare during COVID-19 was associated with both exacerbated co-occurring health conditions (aOR 1.12; 95%CI 1.01-1.26) and increasing fear of seizure (aOR 2.31; 95%CI 1.14-4.68). Social isolation was associated with exacerbated co-occurring health conditions during COVID-19 (aOR 1.14; 95%CI 1.01-1.29). Reduced access to physical healthcare was associated with increasing fear of seizure (aOR 2.58; 95%CI 1.15-5.78). CONCLUSION A considerable number of PWE experienced more symptoms of existing health conditions and fear of seizure during the initial year of the pandemic (2020). Fear of seeking healthcare services was associated with both negative outcomes. Assuring access to health care and reducing social isolation could potentially reduce negative outcomes for PWE. It is necessary to provide adequate support for PWE to reduce risks as COVID-19 continues to be a health concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Roghani
- Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Erin Bouldin
- Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Helal Mobasher
- Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Andrea Kalvesmaki
- Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Samin Panahi
- Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Amy Henion
- Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Anne VanCott
- VA Pittsburgh Health Care System, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Neurology, Epilepsy Division University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Maria Raquel Lopez
- Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Mary Jo Pugh
- Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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Munger Clary HM, Giambarberi L, Floyd WN, Hamberger MJ. Afraid to go out: Poor quality of life with phobic anxiety in a large cross-sectional adult epilepsy center sample. Epilepsy Res 2023; 190:107092. [PMID: 36701931 PMCID: PMC10167591 DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2023.107092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE People with epilepsy (PWE) have unmet healthcare needs, especially in the context of mental health. Although the current literature has established increased incidence of anxiety and depression in PWE and their contribution to poor quality of life, little is known regarding the presence and impact of specific phobia and agoraphobia. Our aim was to assess factors associated with high phobic/agoraphobic symptoms in a large, single tertiary epilepsy center sample, and to assess their impact on quality of life. METHODS In a diverse sample of 420 adults with epilepsy, cross-sectional association of demographic, epilepsy and cognitive factors with high phobic symptoms were assessed using multiple logistic regression. Symptoms were measured with the SCL-90R validated self-report subscale (T-score ≥ 60 considered high phobic symptom group). Multiple logistic regression modeling was used to assess for independent association of demographic and clinical variables with presence of high phobic symptoms, and multiple linear regression modeling was used to evaluate for independent cross-sectional associations with epilepsy-specific quality of life (QOLIE-89). RESULTS Lower education (adjusted OR 3.38), non-White race/ethnicity (adjusted OR 2.34), and generalized anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR 1.91) were independently associated with high phobic/agoraphobic symptoms, all p < 0.005. Phobic/agoraphobic symptoms were independently associated with poor quality of life as were depression symptoms, older age, and non-White race/ethnicity. Generalized anxiety did not demonstrate a significant independent association with quality of life in the multivariable model. CONCLUSION In this study sample, phobic/agoraphobic symptoms were independently associated with poor quality of life. Clinicians should consider using more global symptom screening instruments with particular attention to susceptible populations, as these impactful symptoms may be overlooked using generalized-anxiety focused screening paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi M Munger Clary
- Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
| | - Luciana Giambarberi
- Department of Psychiatry, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
| | - Whitney N Floyd
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
| | - Marla J Hamberger
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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Michaelis R, Schlömer S, Popkirov S, Krämer G, Lindemann A, Cosentino M, Reuber M, Heinen G, Wellmer J, Grönheit W, Wehner T, Schlegel U, Scott AJ, Gandy M. German translation and validation of the brief Epilepsy Anxiety Survey Instrument (brEASI). Epilepsy Behav 2022; 134:108857. [PMID: 35907288 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2022.108857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorders remain undiagnosed in routine clinical practice in up to two thirds of affected patients with epilepsy despite their significant impact on medical and psychosocial outcomes. The study objective was to translate and validate the German 8-item "brief Epilepsy Anxiety Survey Instrument" (brEASI) to facilitate effective screening for the presence of anxiety disorders in German-speaking patients. METHODS After expert translation into German, the brEASI was completed by consecutive adult inpatients with epilepsy hospitalized for seizures at an academic reference epilepsy center. Patients also completed the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) for external validity, and underwent a standardized interview (Mini-DIPS-OA) as a gold standard to determine the presence of an ICD-10 anxiety disorder (generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, agoraphobia, and social phobia). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) were calculated to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the brEASI, including the associated area under the curve (AUC) statistics to determine the potential of the brEASI to identify ICD-10 anxiety disorders diagnosed by interview. For comparative purposes, these analyses were also conducted for the GAD-7. RESULTS Of 80 recruited adult inpatients with epilepsy, 18 (23 %) were found to have a current anxiety disorder through standardized interview. In this study, both brEASI and GAD-7 showed a better diagnostic performance at a cutoff of >5 than at the previously reported cutoff values of >6 and >9, respectively. The AUC of the German brEASI was outstanding (AUC = 0.90, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.82-0.96) for detecting all anxiety disorders and excellent for detecting non-GAD disorders (AUC = 0.85, CI = 0.76-0.92) at a cutoff of >5. At this optimal cutoff of >5 the brEASI demonstrated better sensitivity and specificity (89 % and 84 %) for identifying anxiety disorders than the GAD-7 (83 % and 74 %). The final German version of the brEASI is free to download at https://www.v-neuro.de/veroeffentlichungen/. CONCLUSION The German version of the brEASI represents a valid and reliable epilepsy-specific anxiety screening instrument. A positive screening result should be followed by further diagnostic procedures. Appropriate therapeutic steps should be initiated if the presence of an anxiety disorder or other psychiatric disorders is confirmed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Michaelis
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Germany.
| | - Sabine Schlömer
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Stoyan Popkirov
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | | | - Anja Lindemann
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Ruhr-Epileptology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Maya Cosentino
- University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Markus Reuber
- Academic Neurology Unit, University of Sheffield, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jörg Wellmer
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Ruhr-Epileptology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Wenke Grönheit
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Ruhr-Epileptology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Tim Wehner
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Ruhr-Epileptology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Uwe Schlegel
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Amelia J Scott
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Milena Gandy
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Słupska A, Słupski J. Seizure phobia: Focus on the broad context of anxiety disorders among PWE. Seizure 2022; 96:108. [PMID: 35189466 DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2022.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Revised: 02/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Anita Słupska
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Smoluchowskiego 17St., Gdańsk 80-214, Poland.
| | - Jakub Słupski
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Smoluchowskiego 17St., Gdańsk 80-214, Poland.
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