Therapeutic yield of comprehensive inpatient treatment for patients with intellectual disability and epilepsy - A...

In people with intellectual disability (ID), prevalence of epilepsy can be over 40-times higher than in normally intelligent people, impacting quality of life (QoL) of those affected. Patients with ID are often excluded from clinical trials, resulting in limited evidence regarding treatment. This study aimed to evaluate effects of a comprehensive inpatient treatment program on seizure outcome and QoL and to identify predictive factors for improvement in these measures.

This prospective observational study included people with epilepsy (PWE) and ID (IQ < 70) who underwent comprehensive inpatient treatment in a tertiary epilepsy center. The program consisted of adjustments of anti-seizure medication (ASM) and various interventions such as occupational therapy, ergotherapy, logopedics, physiotherapy and counseling services, requiring a minimum hospital stay of 14 days. Outcome was measured by the Liverpool Seizure Severity Scale (LSSS), Glasgow Epilepsy Outcome Scale (GEOS), Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), and Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (LAEP), alongside global QoL (numerical rating scale; 10 best, 0 worst) by caregivers. Seizure outcome was classified as "favorable" for patients experiencing not more than one seizure per month without any seizure-related injuries in the last 2 months. Data were collected within 2 weeks prior to admission and 8 weeks post-discharge. Wilcoxon signed rank tests and regression analysis were used to assess the effects of inpatient treatment and to identify predictive factors.

A total of 65 patients (30 female, median age 32 years) were included. During their hospital stays, number of ASM was reduced significantly, but not the total ASM dosage. Inpatient treatment led to a significant improvement in favorable seizure outcome (25 % before admission vs. 46 % after discharge; p = 0.004) and ASM adverse effects (LAEP median 34.0 vs. 31.0; p = 0.006). QoL ratings improved significantly post-treatment (rating scale median 4.0 vs. 6.0; p = 0.0015). A significant improvement of global QoL after discharge compared to the time point before admission was independently associated with a reduction of ASM number during hospital stay (p = 0.011). In general, higher global QoL after discharge was independently associated with a favorable seizure outcome (p < 0.001) and lower scores for ASM adverse effects (p = 0.03).

In PWE and ID, a comprehensive inpatient treatment program may be helpful to reduce burden of seizures and of ASM adverse effects as well as to improve global QoL. A reduction of the number of ASM may facilitate improvement of global QoL.