N Pickard | PubMed Health

PubMed2001

The epilepsy nurse specialist--expendable handmaiden or essential colleague?

The benefits of a specialist epilepsy nurse in the management of people with epilepsy are still in question. Evidence from controlled clinical trials suggests that patients supported by a nurse specialist are well informed and have a high degree of satisfaction. However, no significant effect on health status or the number of seizures has been yet demonstrated, although this is not the primary function of most epilepsy specialist nurses. The recent International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) British Branch meeting in Liverpool (April 2001) dedicated a one-day symposium to epilepsy nursing including a debate on the effectiveness of the epilepsy specialist nursewarm fuzzy feeling or evidence based?'. Although it was agreed that evidence-based research is limited, the case studies and data presented, throughout the symposium, highlighted the varying role of the epilepsy specialist nurse in supporting both the specialist physician in epilepsy care, the non-specialist physician and the primary care physician in patient communication. This paper provides an overview of the presentations given at the symposium, including those on nursing research and publishing.

Epilepsy↗

PubMed2000

A population-based study of the prevalence, clinical characteristics and effect of ethnicity in epilepsy.

UNLABELLED: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of epilepsy and seizure disorders in Bradford. The method used was a community-based cross-sectional study. Case ascertainment was by review of medical records identified by searching practice databases using diagnostic codes and from repeat prescribing data. A specialist epilepsy nurse reviewed the records in 39 practices covering a population of 225 439. Clinical review was undertaken where there was limited information available in the records. In total, 1643 cases of epilepsy were identified (prevalence 7.3/1000). The prevalence of epilepsy increased with age. Classification of patients by internationally agreed definitions showed 1013 (62%) of cases with active epilepsy (prevalence 4. 5/1000); 421 (26%) with epilepsy in remission on treatment and 209 (13%) with epilepsy in remission off treatment. The standardized rate for all patients of South Asian origin was 3.6/1000 compared to 7.8/1000 in the rest of the population (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.38, 0.57). An underlying aetiology was identified in 29.5% of cases. Cerebrovascular disease and head injuries were the commonest causes. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of epilepsy supports previous epidemiological estimates and highlights the public health importance of epilepsy. The low prevalence in the South Asian population is a surprising finding and further research into cultural attitudes to epilepsy and the impact of stigma in the South Asian population in the UK is required.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Hematology problem.

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Blood Cell Count↗