P.031 Waiting times for assessment and epilepsy surgery at the epilepsy program of the University of Saskatchewan. (2nd June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Funes, B; Tellez-Zenteno, J; Hernandez-Ronquillo, L; Wu, A
• Is Part Of: Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Volume 44(2017)Supplement 2
• Page Start: S21
• Page End: S21
• Publication Date: 2017-06-02
• Subjects: Neurology -- Periodicals; Nervous system -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.8
• DOI: 10.1017/cjn.2017.116
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0317-1671

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Epilepsy surgery remains one of the most underused of all current medical interventions. It is estimated that less than 1% of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy are referred to specialized centers. The average delay from onset of seizures to surgical procedures is between 10 to 20 yearsMethods: In this study we describe the waiting times from the diagnosis of epilepsy to the assessment and epilepsy surgery at the epilepsy center of the University of Saskatchewan (SEP)Results: We included 70 patients assessed in the epilepy program between 2007 and 2015. Mean age of patients was 42.2+13. The time from the diagnosis of epilepsy to the referral was 16 years. The times for the for assesment and testing were the following: to the first consult with the epileptologist was 208 months, to the neuropsychological test was 201 months, to the video-EEG telemetry 219 months, to the first consult to neurosurgery 227 months and finally to the epilepsy surgery was 238 months.Conclusions: This study shows that patients with complex epilepsy in Canada are waiting significant time to be properly diagnosed and treated. Our study shows similar waiting times to otehrdeveloped countries suggesting a global problem in the reference of patients to epilepsy programs.