Measuring quality and safety of epilepsy monitoring units in Brazil: Adoption of quality indicators

Abstract

Purpose: Drug-resistant epilepsy affects a substantial proportion (30-40 %) of patients with epilepsy, often necessitating video-electroencephalography (video-EEG) monitoring. In 2016, Sauro et al. introduced a set of measures aimed at improving the quality and safety indicators reported in video-EEG evaluations. This study aims to report our experience with the implementation of these measures.

Methods: We analyzed video-EEG data regarding quality and safty from a period spanning January 2016 to January 2018, involving a total of 101 patients monitored in our video-EEG unit.

Results: Among the patients included in the study, a definitive diagnosis was attainable for 92.1 %, with 36.6 % experiencing a change in diagnosis and 65.3 % undergoing a change in treatment as a result of the video-EEG evaluation. Additionally, the referral question was fully addressed in 60.4 % of admissions, and video-EEG was considered to be very useful or extremely useful in 66.4 % of cases. Adverse events were observed in 26.7 % of patients, with the most common being the progression of focal seizures to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (11.9 %) and the occurrence of seizure clusters (5.9 %).

Conclusion: Our findings support the implementation of Sauro et al.'s set of measures, as they provide valuable criteria for improving the reporting of video-EEG quality and safety indicators. However, challenges may arise due to variations in terminology across studies and the lack of standardized criteria for defining essential questions in video-EEG evaluations. Further research utilizing these measures is necessary to enhance their effectiveness and encourage consistent reporting of results from epilepsy monitoring units.

Keywords: EEG; Electroencephalogram safety; Epilepsy monitoring unit; Video-EEG.