Parent- and patient-validated content for pediatric epilepsy quality-of-life assessment

The purpose of this study was to assess the parent-and patient-validated content of quality-of-life measurement for use in children with epilepsy.

We asked the parents of 80 consecutive children and adolescents with epilepsy to list in order of importance their concerns about living with or caring for their children with epilepsy. Patients were 3 months to 18 years of age (mean, 10 years) and identified at the outpatient clinic or during hospital stay. To minimize investigator bias, parents and children listed their concerns in a private setting without staff involvement.

Twenty-six distinct domains were generated by the parents and children. Concerns listed by more than 20 of parents included medication adverse effects (58), cognitive effects of epilepsy (46), prospects for the future (41), safety (35), independence (31), and brain damage caused by seizures (30). Concerns ranked by parents as most important included safety (18), brain damage from seizures (12), enigma of epilepsy (12), cognitive effects of epilepsy (11), and prospects for the future (10). Concerns listed by more than 20 of children included social problems (35), cognitive effects of epilepsy (29), driving (29), sports (27), medication adverse effects (25), and schooling (21). Concerns ranked by children as most important included issues related to medication adverse effects (13), cognitive effects of epilepsy (10), hatred of epilepsy (8), social embarrassment (6), fear of seizures (6), injury (6), and dislike of hospital visits (6).

The effect of epilepsy on health-related quality of life in pediatric patients is defined by a limited number of domains. A 20-item inventory was chosen from the 26 domains generated by the parents and children. Our study provides insight into parents' and children's perception of seizures and the impact of epilepsy on everyday life.