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To investigate benefits of in-hospital, long-term video EEG monitoring (LVEM) for pediatric patients, from a therapeutic perspective and from the perspectives of patients and their families. A monocentric retrospective cohort study was conducted. Patients aged 0–18 years who underwent LVEM for epilepsy surgery eligibility, epilepsy syndrome clarification, or medication adjustment were evaluated regarding paroxysmal event type, change in seizure frequency and patients' benefits using a standardized evaluation protocol. A total of 163 (88 boys and 75 girls, mean age 10.9 years) pediatric patients underwent 178 LVEM sessions, with a mean duration of 5.4 days. The rate of habitual event detection was 69.1%. Epilepsy diagnosis was confirmed in 147 patients and excluded in 16 patients (9.8%). LVEM results altered the diagnosis of 37.4% of patients. Diagnosis remained unchanged in 49.1% of patients and was specified in 13.5% of patients. Epilepsy surgery was performed in 32 patients, and 64% of epilepsy patients deemed ineligible for epilepsy surgery underwent medication adjustments. Patients or their families found LVEM helpful in 75% of cases. Significant seizure reductions and improvements in the disease course were reported by 45% of epilepsy patients. Three episodes of non-convulsive status epilepticus occurred, representing 1.7% of admissions and 1.9% of patients diagnosed with epilepsy, while no injuries were observed. LVEM is beneficial for pediatric patients from both a medical perspective and from the perspective of patients and their families, even if patients are ineligible for epilepsy surgery. LVEM is well-tolerated with a low risk of status epilepticus and injuries. • LVEM is useful to classify epilepsy, leading to optimized treatment strategies with positive impact on course of disease. • Families considered LVEM to be helpful, even if not eligible for epilepsy surgery. • LVEM is well-tolerated with low risk for status epilepticus and no injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Objective: Status epilepticus (SE) is an important medical emergency condition with particularly unfavorable outcome in refractory and superrefractory SE (SRSE). The economic impact of SE and especially of SRSE in the pediatric population remains unclear. We aimed to determine the burden of illness of SE in a pediatric patient population. Methods: Insurance records for patients aged 0‐18 years admitted between 2008 and 2015 were selected from a nationwide insurance research database utilizing International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD‐10) codes for SE (G41), epilepsy (G40), or febrile convulsions (R56). Patients were further classified based on admission to the intensive care unit and use of mechanical ventilation. Results: The algorithm identified 11 693 seizure‐related admissions and classified 4% as SE. Of these cases, 282 (60.4%) were classified by the algorithm as nonrefractory SE (NRSE), 125 (26.8%) as refractory SE (RSE), and 60 (12.8%) as SRSE. The crude SE incidence was 17.6/100 000, with NRSE being 11.4/100 000, RSE 3.9/100 000, and SRSE 2.3/100 000. SRSE incidence peaked in the 0‐ to 1‐year‐old age subgroup accounting for 48.3% of all pediatric SRSE admissions. The median length of stay (LOS) for all SE cases was 7 days, with median 44.5 days in SRSE, 5 days in NRSE, and 12 days in RSE. Mean admission costs for total SE were €15 880, with a mean expense for SRSE of €75 358, for NRSE of €4119, and for RSE of €13 864. The mean LOS for non‐SE epilepsy admissions was 3 days, with mean costs of €2697 for epilepsy and €1614 for febrile convulsion admissions. There were no deaths in non‐SE and NRSE admissions, whereas the overall mortality for SE was 3%, with 5.6% in RSE and 11.7% in SRSE. Significance: Although cases classified as SE represented 4% of the seizure‐associated admissions, they accounted for 22% of the overall costs. These costs were disproportionately represented by SRSE cases, which accounted for 62% of all SE‐associated costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zusammenfassung Epilepsien im Kindesalter treten in allen Altersgruppen auf, dabei haben sie einen Häufigkeitsgipfel im ersten Lebensjahr. Die Ausprägung der Schweregrade sind im Kindesalter sehr unterschiedlich, von selbstlimitierenden Epilepsien mit guter Prognose bis hin zu schweren epileptischen Enzephalopathien mit therapierefraktären Anfällen und ungünstiger kognitiver Entwicklung. Es gibt altersabhängige Epilepsiesyndrome mit spezifischen EEG-Mustern. Die Kenntnis der Besonderheiten von Epilepsiesyndromen im Kindesalter und ihrer EEG-Merkmale ist zur Diagnoseerkennung wichtig, erleichtert die Auswahl der richtigen antikonvulsiven Medikation und hilft bei der Prognoseabschätzung der Epilepsie. Summary Epilepsies are frequent disorders in children appearing at all ages, with a peak incidence in infancy. There is a spectrum of different forms and severities, from self-limiting epilepsies with a good prognosis to severe epileptic encephalopathies with a poor outcome concerning seizure control and cognitive development. Different epilepsy syndromes may have specific EEG patterns. The knowledge of epilepsy syndromes and their EEG features is important to ascertain the diagnosis, to choose the right anticonvulsive treatment and to give an assessment of prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The diagnosis of epilepsy is accompanied by relevant personal, interpersonal, and professional restrictions for patients and their caregivers. Specialized epilepsy counseling services (ECS) have been introduced to inform, advise, and support patients with disease-related problems. Aim and scope The objective of this cross-sectional, multicenter study was to determine the demand, typical content, and outcomes of ECS in children, adolescents, and adults in two adjacent German regions of Hessen and Lower Franconia. All ECS sites in these regions participated in 2014 and 2015, offering a total population of 7.5 million inhabitants. Results A total number of 435 patients [323 adults (74.3%), 51.7% female, mean age: 40.3 ± 14.7 years and 112 children/adolescents (25.7%), 52.7% female, mean age: 9.4 ± 4.6 years] were enrolled at six ECS sites. The most common reasons for counseling were general information needs (n = 304; 69.9%), administrative help (n = 208; 47.8%), problems with education or work (n = 176; 40.5%), and recreational activities (n = 119; 27.3%). In addition, 6.2% reported epilepsy-related questions on family planning as a specific reason for desiring counseling. Recommendation by the treating physicians was the most frequent reason for receiving counseling through ECS (62.5%), and most patients preferred to receive a personal consultation (73.1%). Patient satisfaction as measured by the ZUF-8 client satisfaction score was high with a mean of 29.7 points (standard deviation: ± 2.7 points, median: 29.9 points), and 83.9% of patients said they would recommend ECS. Disease-related job loss or change in school was avoided in 72% of 82 patients. Suggestions for improvement of ECS included an extension of service hours (58.6%) and a better availability of more sites located nearby (32.8%). Conclusion Epilepsy counseling services are necessary, valued, and effective institutions for people with epilepsy complementing outpatient and inpatient care. To improve the care for people with epilepsy, access to and availability of ECS should be improved. Highlights • We surveyed 323 adults and 112 children with caregivers at six epilepsy counseling service sites. • Counseling issues are general information needs, administrative help, and problems with education or work. • Epilepsy-related job loss or change in school was avoided in 72% of patients. • Patients are satisfied with epilepsy counseling and would recommend to people with epilepsy in need of advice. • Patients suggest an extension of service hours and a better availability of more sites located nearby. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]