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Development and validation of the Pediatric Epilepsy Side Effects Questionnaire

Diego A Morita1, Tracy A Glauser, Avani C Modi

  • 1Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.diego.morita@cchmc.org

Neurology
|August 10, 2012
PubMed

Insights

The Pediatric Epilepsy Side Effects Questionnaire (PESQ) effectively measures antiepileptic drug side effects in children. This validated tool aids clinical and research settings for improved epilepsy management.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Clinical Pharmacology
  • Psychometrics

Background:

  • Epilepsy affects numerous children, necessitating effective antiepileptic drug (AED) management.
  • Accurate assessment of AED side effects is crucial for optimizing treatment in pediatric epilepsy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a comprehensive measure for assessing antiepileptic drug (AED) side effects in children with epilepsy.
  • To create a tool applicable across diverse seizure types, treatments, and epilepsy durations.

Main Methods:

  • Content derived from the Hague Scale and expert input (pediatric epileptologists, caregivers).
  • Validated using factor analysis, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity.
  • Data collected from 495 children via caregiver questionnaires and chart reviews.

Main Results:

  • The Pediatric Epilepsy Side Effects Questionnaire (PESQ) is a 19-item, 5-subscale measure.
  • High reliability (0.72-0.97) and validity demonstrated, explaining 99% of variance.
  • Increased side effects correlated with more AEDs; valproic acid users showed higher weight-related scores.

Conclusions:

  • The PESQ is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating AED side effects in children.
  • The PESQ is suitable for use in both clinical practice and research settings for pediatric epilepsy.
Abstract

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