Abstracts

Rationale: Epilepsy has a significant impact on a patient’s physical, mental and social health, creating challenges in social situations, employment/school and driving.  Loss of driving privileges can have a profound impact on the quality of life in individuals with epilepsy. Very few published studies have analyzed the effect of driving restrictions on emotional well-being, daily living and quality of life. Methods: After UConn Health IRB approval, a prospective anonymous questionnaire was distributed to adults (age >18 y) with history of seizures and prior driving experience.  The survey includes 78 questions on seizure types, medications, driving restrictions, compliance, car accidents, distances traveled and other factors.  Additional surveys included the PHQ-9 to assess depression, Epworth sleepiness scale to identify somnolence, and QOLIE-10P to measure quality of life.  At time of submission, 16 questionnaires had been returned and analyzed.  Results: Mean age or respondants was 40.6 (range 20-77); 37.5 % were male (6/16), with mean seizure duration of 5.8 ± 6.1 years.  69% had generalized convulsions, with frequency of up to several daily (13.3%) to seizure free more than 2 years (26.7%); the highest percentage (33.3%) reported seizures occur about every 3 months.  56.3% reported a seizure within the past month, and 28.6% reported their longest seizure-free period was less than 2 years.  85.7% (12/14) were told at some point not to drive, and 66.7% were told they should not be driving now.  46.2% (6/13) reported that they currently drive.  8.3% (1/12) reported disobedience to the driving restriction, and one patient (7.7%) was involved in a car accident not related to seizures or seizure medications. 30.8% (4/13) admitted having lost a job due to having seizures, but no patients (0/12) reported losing a job due to inability to drive. Most patients (84.6%, 11/13) reported quality of life was slightly worse or much worse due to driving restrictions, and 66.7% (8/12) reported much worse sense of independence.  However, the QOLIE10 score was not significantly different between those currently driving or not driving.  Conclusions: Driving has an essential social, psychological and employment function for most individuals. Loss of driving privileges can have a profound impact on the quality of life of patients with epilepsy. Most patients reported that they are compliant with driving restrictions and only one patient was involved in a MVA since the onset of seizures, apparently not caused by a seizure. The quality of life appears to have been somewhat adversely affected by not driving, though QOLIE10P scores did not differ significantly. These results are preliminary and may change as more patients answer the survey. Funding: Supported by UConn Health Department of Neurology.