Improving the treatment of functional seizures through a public specialist outpatient clinic

Abstract

Objectives: We performed an audit of the first 12 months of clinical operations to assess the feasibility of a newly established public outpatient clinic for the assessment and treatment of functional (psychogenic nonepileptic) seizures (FS).

Method: Clinical notes for the first 12 months of the FSclinic weresystematicallyreviewed with data compiled onreferral pathways, clinic attendance, clinical features, treatments, and outcomes.

Results: Of eighty-two new FS patients referred to the clinic, over 90% attended. Patients were diagnosed with FS after comprehensive epileptological and neuropsychiatric review, mostly with typical seizure-like episodes captured during video-EEG monitoring, and most accepted the diagnosis. Most had FS at least weekly, with little sense of control and significant impairment. The majority of individuals had significant psychiatric and medical comorbidity. Predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors were readily identified in >90% of cases. Of 52 patients with follow-up data within12 months, 88% were either stable or improved in terms of the control of their FS.

Conclusion: The Alfred functional seizure clinic model, the first dedicated public outpatient clinic for FS in Australia, provides a feasible and potentially effective treatment pathway for this underserved and disabled patient group.

Keywords: Functional neurological disorder; Functional seizures; Neurology; Neuropsychiatric disorders; Nonepileptic seizures; Psychiatry.