Standard procedures for the diagnostic pathway of sleep-related epilepsies and comorbid sleep disorders: an EAN, ESRS and ILAE-Europe consensus review

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Some epilepsy syndromes (sleep-related epilepsies, SREs) have a strong link with sleep. Comorbid sleep disorders are common in patients with SRE and can exert a negative impact on seizure control and quality of life. Our purpose was to define the standard procedures for the diagnostic pathway of patients with possible SRE (scenario 1) and the general management of patients with SRE and comorbidity with sleep disorders (scenario 2).

METHODS

The project was conducted under the auspices of the European Academy of Neurology, the European Sleep Research Society and the International League Against Epilepsy Europe. The framework entailed the following phases: conception of the clinical scenarios; literature review; statements regarding the standard procedures. For the literature search a stepwise approach starting from systematic reviews to primary studies was applied. Published studies were identified from the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database and Cochrane Library.

RESULTS

Scenario 1: Despite a low quality of evidence, recommendations on anamnestic evaluation and tools for capturing the event at home or in the laboratory are provided for specific SREs. Scenario 2: Early diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders (especially respiratory disorders) in patients with SRE are likely to be beneficial for seizure control.

CONCLUSIONS

Definitive procedures for evaluating patients with SRE are lacking. Advice is provided that could be of help for standardizing and improving the diagnostic approach of specific SREs. The importance of identifying and treating specific sleep disorders for the management and outcome of patients with SRE is underlined.

Using a structured questionnaire improves seizure description by medical students

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a structured questionnaire for improving a medical students' ability to identify, describe and interpret a witnessed seizure.

METHODS

Ninety two 3rd year medical students, blinded to seizure diagnosis, viewed videos of a primary generalized seizure and a complex partial seizure. Students next completed an unstructured questionnaire that asked the students to describe the seizure video recordings. The students then completed a structured questionnaire that asked the student to respond to 17 questions regarding specific features occurring during the seizures. We determined the number and types of correct responses for each questionnaire.

RESULTS

Overall, the structured questionnaire was more effective in eliciting an average of 9.25 correct responses compared to the unstructured questionnaire eliciting an average of 5.30 correct responses (p < 0.001). Additionally, 10 of the 17 seizure features were identified more effectively with the structured questionnaire. Potentially confounding factors, prior knowledge of someone with epilepsy or a prior experience of viewing a seizure, did not predict the student's ability to correctly identify any of the 17 features.

CONCLUSIONS

A structured questionnaire significantly improves a medical student's ability to provide an accurate clinical description of primary generalized and complex partial witnessed seizures. Our analysis identified the 10 specific features improved by using the structured questionnaire.