Abstracts

Rationale: Background: Epilepsy is a cause of significant neurological disability. The causes underlying a diagnosis of epilepsy are wide and complex. Classification systems used in clinical practice in epilepsy are centred largely on ascribing groupings to seizure type or syndrome. International bodies governing epilepsy, for example International League Against Epilepsy have published well established classification structures but there is a lack of attention in literature towards developing comprehensive means of organizing the epilepsies by etiology. We have accumulated a comprehensive and formal etiological categorization of the epilepsies of patients in Beaumont Hospital (n = 2186), a national tertiary referral centre for neurology and neurosurgery in Ireland. This will serve an informative source of national epidemiological data. Methods: Data collection involved deriving clinical information from specific electronic patient record search parameters entered into a unique electronic epilepsy patient record (EPR) database involving the Beaumont Hospital epilepsy patient cohort. The data collection tool (Figure 1a) is being utilised based on an etiology classification model proposed initially by Shorvon et al (1). Results: The leading causes of epilepsy in 2186 patients analysed in the Beaumont Hospital database  are as follows; Tumour/Cyst (n=327), Mesial Temporal Sclerosis (n=326), Unknown (n= 315), Idiopathic Generalized epilepsy syndromes (n= 244), Cerebrovascular (n= 243), Traumatic Brain Injury (n=203)and Perinatal Injury (n=107). Conclusions: This audit highlights the clinical utility of the EPR database in auditing and collecting data on epilepsy. The success of the EPR is contingent on meticulous data input by specialist nurses and doctors alike. This audit provides data on 2186 patients in Beaumont Hospital and continued analysis is needed as a large number of epilepsies remain unexplained. With the upcoming use of whole exome sequencing, the identification of single gene disorders will increase the volume of epilepsies attributable to this etiology. Funding: No funding was received for this abstract.