Emergency management of pediatric epileptic seizures in non-hospital settings in Japan.

Objective: To assess the current management of pediatric epileptic seizures in non-hospital settings and the efficacy of early therapeutic intervention with rescue medication in Japan.
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was based on an online survey of caregivers of pediatric patients with epilepsy. The survey consisted of questions regarding seizure frequency and symptoms, the use of rescue medication, and emergency medical care. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the association between the time to rescue medication administration and seizure resolution.
Results: Responses were obtained from 1147 caregivers of pediatric patients with epilepsy. Of the patients described in the study, 98.5 % had been prescribed anti-seizure medication, 95.3 % had more than a few seizures per year, and 90.3 % used rescue medication. The time to seizure resolution was significantly reduced when rescue medication was administered early. Overall, 28.4 % of the patients required emergency transport to hospital, which increased disruption to the lives of caregivers, who returned to their normal activities after an average of 17.2 h.
Conclusion: Emergency transport of patients places a significant burden on caregivers. Earlier administration of rescue medications is associated with a reduction in the need for emergency room visits, which reduces the burden on the patient as well as the caregiver.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Shinichi Nishiuma and Takuya Kumagai are employees of Aculys Pharma, Inc. Healthcare Consulting, Inc. has received research funding from Aculys Pharma, Inc. Kinya Kokubo is the representative director of Healthcare Consulting, Inc. Katsuhiko Iwasaki and Kazuaki Yamamoto are employees of Healthcare Consulting, Inc. Knock on the Door, Inc. has received research funding from Aculys Pharma, Inc. Hiroomi Hayashi is a representative director of Knock on the Door, Inc. Eiji Nakagawa and Shin Okazaki has received advisory fees from Aculys Pharma, Inc. for this research. Beyond these declared interests, there are no conflicts of interest to disclose regarding this study.
(Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)