ABSTRACT

In this retrospective study, it was aimed to share the experience gained in Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Department of Neurology regarding a 15 (or 21)-day of observation of epilepsy patients referred by the Social Security Institution (SSI) in an attempt to identify their rate of disability and question the practicality and validity of this practice.

Fifty-eight patients, referred to our clinic and hospitalized for the purpose of determining the disability rate between 2007 and 2014, were retrospectively analyzed.

Fifty-eight patients (10 female, 48 male) were included into our study. The number of patients with refractory epilepsy was 18 (33.3%). Twenty-seven cases had witnessed seizures during hospitalization and 11 of these patients were evaluated with psychogenic seizures. We were unable to witness seizures in eight cases. Of the fifty-eight patients, 65.5% of them (n=38) were diagnosed with epilepsy, 20.6% of them (n=12) were psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and epilepsy association, 13.7% (n=8) of them were PNES with history, clinical, imaging and interictal EEG assessment. Eighteen of the patients (33.3%) who were known as mentally retarded acquired the right to disability. Eighteen of the 36 patients (33.3% of whose mental state was known) who were known not to be mentally retarded obtained the right to pension because they were diagnosed with drug-resistant epilepsy and were using adequate and regular AEDs.

Most of the patients referred for hospitalization for the purpose of determining the disability may be given the disability report only with a good history and short-term video EEG monitoring, without hospitalization. In our opinion, this type of practice might be a more economical, practical and valid behavior in terms of time and place.

Keywords: Epilepsy, disability