Seizure Triggers in Persons with Epilepsy (PWE): Numbers from a Tertiary Care Neurology Database
Abstract number :
1.236
Submission category :
4. Clinical Epilepsy / 4D. Prognosis
Year :
2023
Submission ID :
313
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/2/2023 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Authors :
Presenting Author: Ajaz Sheikh, MD – The University of Toledo
Hira Pervez, MD – The University of Toledo; Bashar Saour, MD – The University of Toledo; Sabeena Malik, MD – The University of Toledo; Elysia James, MD – The University of Toledo; Alisa Gega, Medical Student – The University of Toledo; Sidra Saleem, MD – The University of Toledo; Imran Ali, MD – The University of Toledo; Rabia Zubair, MD – The University of Toledo; Fahham Asghar, MD – The University of Toledo
Rationale: Extrinsic factors that trigger seizures have previously been reported in Persons with Epilepsy (PWE). However, the specific triggers and their frequency have not been as thoroughly studied. The aim of this study was to identify seizure triggers in PWE. Along with identifying these daily life factors, we also aimed to find the frequency of patients whose seizures were induced by these experiences.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional retrospective data analysis of 3020 PWE being treated at a tertiary level epilepsy center. Patients diagnosed with either focal, generalized or combined focal and generalized epilepsy were included in the study. We analyzed patient demographics, common seizure triggers and number of patients whose seizures were triggered by these factors.
Results: There are currently 3020 patients in the database out of which 2214 are diagnosed with either focal, generalized or combined focal & generalized epilepsy. These patients are 48.6% male and 51.4% female, mean age 39.72±22.48 years. 1413 (63.8%) patients were diagnosed with focal, 775 (35%) patients were diagnosed with generalized, and 21 (1.2%) patients were diagnosed with combined focal & generalized epilepsy. Out of these 2214 patients, 323 (16.3%) patients self-reported daily life factors that acted as seizure triggers. A variety of factors were found to provoke seizures in these patients (Table 1 and Table 2). When identifying the frequency of these factors, the most commonly reported triggers were missing medication doses (4.5%), stress (3.9%), sleep deprivation (1.9%) and fever (1.6%).
Conclusions: Our findings show a variety of daily life factors act as seizure triggers in persons with epilepsy. Along with the established factors such as missing medication doses and sleep deprivation, patient reported stress was found to be the second most common seizure trigger. Further research needs to be done to identify these correlations and counsel patients regarding seizure triggering factors to better control disease progression and improve quality of life.
Funding: None
Clinical Epilepsy