NEW YORK, Jan 07 (Reuters Health) -- Many epileptics conceal seizures from
their doctor, possibly out of fear that they would become ineligible for a
driving license or for certain jobs, British researchers report.
Their study findings, published in the January 8th issue of the British
Medical Journal, suggest that patients who conceal seizures may receive
inadequate treatment as a result.
"The consequences of concealment of seizures from general practitioners
include potentially inadequate treatment, barriers to doctor-patient
communication, and failure to resolve (issues) of stigmatisation," write Drs.
Jamie Dalrymple and John Appleby from the University of East Anglia in Norwich,
UK.
The researchers note that "doctors may need to put more effort into
explaining the potential consequences of concealment to the patient."
According to the authors, information on seizures helps physicians
determine the most appropriate antiepileptic drug and its dose.
To arrive at their findings, Dalrymple and Appleby analyzed anonymous
questionnaires from 111 epileptic patients. Information included patient age,
sex, socioeconomic status, type of epilepsy, date of diagnosis, treatment, and
date of last seizure.
Sixty patients admitted to a recent seizure in the questionnaire, but only
42 patients (70%) revealed the seizure to their doctor.
Of these 60 patients, 24 (40%) held a driving license but only 6 of the 24
patients told their doctor they had the license. Thirty-two percent of the
patients were unemployed, compared with 9% in the general population, the study
found.
"General practitioners' ability to treat epilepsy is hampered by their
role in regulating the rights of epileptic patients to hold a driving license or
access certain occupations," the study authors conclude.
According to the report, epilepsy is the most common neurological
condition encountered by primary care physicians in the United Kingdom.
