Authors :
Presenting Author: Irfan Sheikh, MD – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Roohi Katyal, MD – Department of Neurology – Louisiana State University; Aris Hadjinicolaou, MD – Department of Neurology – CHU Sainte-Justine, Universite de Montreal; Marcia Olandoski, PhD – Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Parana, Curitiba, PR, Brazil; Fábio Nascimento, MD – Department of Neurology – Washington University School of Medicine; Sandor Beniczky, MD, PhD – Department of Clinical Medicine – Danish Epilepsy Centre, Dinalund and Aarhus University Hospital
Rationale:
The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Education Task Force has published a competency-based curriculum for epileptology that includes competencies related to interpreting EEGs and targets providers caring for patients with epilepsy/seizures.1 We created a video-based educational resource (“Roadmap to EEGs”) addressing EEG learning objectives aligned with the ILAE competencies to assess the effectiveness in improving trainees’ knowledge of EEG [2].
Methods:
We created ten video-based e-learning modules addressing seven key topics in EEG and epileptology (normal EEG, normal variants, EEG artifacts, interictal epileptiform discharges (IED), focal seizures, idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), and developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE) were created and posted on YouTube for free access. Pre and post tests, each comprising of 20 multiple-choice questions, were administered via SurveyMonkey to assess participants' knowledge. Pre- and post-test questions showed different EEG samples. After completing the post-test participants were asked to respond additional 19 questions assessing their confidence levels, recommendations for improvement, and interest in additional topics. Recruitment efforts included social media advertisements, targeted emails to program directors in three cycles over a three month period, ILAE academy postings, and an additional email to ILAE representative in India. Results were collected and analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test after a seven month period.
Results:
A total of 1052 pre-test and 153 post-test responses were received. We matched and included those participant responses who completed both pre- and post-tests into our analysis. A total of 52 complete and matched pre- and post-test responses were collected. The comparison of pre- and post-test scores revealed differences in the identification of various EEG findings. Specifically, there were improvements in scores for EEG artifacts (80.1% vs 88.5%), normal EEGs (79.5% vs 93.3%), IEDs (60.9% vs 77.9%), normal variants (70.2% vs 81.7%), focal seizures (62.2% vs 166.7%), generalized seizures (51.9% vs 73.1%), DEE (80.1% vs 82.7%). There was an overall improvement between the pre-test (73.4%) and post-test (81%) scores that did not achieve statistical difference (p = 0.066). However, participants felt completely confident in independently interpreting and identifying EEG findings in all topics after completing the teaching modules (16.7% before vs 37.9% after). Moreover, 86.5% of participants expressed a high likelihood of recommending the module to other trainees.
Conclusions:
We found improvements in detecting EEG artifacts, normal EEG findings, detection of IEDs, normal variants, focal seizures, generalized seizures and DEE. Participants felt confident interpreting EEGs independently after completion of the modules. We believe this e-learning series will allow junior trainees to acquire foundational knowledge in EEG/epilepsy, and senior trainees to review previously learned EEG/epilepsy information.
Funding: No funding