Abstracts

Parents and caregivers of children with infantile spasms and Landau-Kleffner syndrome are often concerned re: possible side effects of and use of intramuscular injections for administration of adrenocorticotropic hormone., A retrospective chart review was used to identify children who were treated with intramuscular adrenocorticotropic hormone. Caregivers were contacted and completed a questionnaire regarding their concerns before and after treatment. Anaysis was done to determine whether or not their fears were warranted; whether or not they would recommend treatment to others and what information they felt would be most helpful for families undertaking the decision-making process., A total of ten families responded. They overwhelmingly felt that they were happy that they proceeded with treatment despite their initial fears; their biggest concerns before treatment were fear of injecting medciation, side effect they feared most was blood dyscrasias, most troublesome side effects were weight gain, insomnia and irritability. Recommendations were: need for easy access to medical personnel and written and video information regarding the medicaiton., The use of adrenocorticotropic hormone poses challenges when providers are attempting to convince families to use this treatment option. Families felt, in retrospect, that treatment was not as overwhelming as they anticipated and asked for instructional materials and abiity to easily contact providers and other families who could serve as resources.,