Epilepsy management during epidemic: A preliminary observation from western China

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether the proposed model could manage patients with epilepsy (PWEs) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. METHODS: We used a model to manage the PWEs during the outbreak. Questionnaire survey and hospital data were used to explore whether PWEs under our management were affected by the virus. RESULTS: A total of 118 (78.7%) PWEs completed the survey. During the “model period,” 22.9% (27/118) of the respondents reported antiepileptic drug (AEDs) discontinuity, including six (22.2%) PWEs who failed to purchase AEDs. Of the patients, 40.7% (22/54) failed to attend ordinary clinic, which was higher than that during the “period before model” (7.9%, 5/63). The common causes were movement limits (77.3%) and appointment failure (54.5%). A shift from ordinary clinic toward remote consultation was observed. Of the PWEs, 15.7% (13/83) referred to online pharmacy. 87.5% (14/16) of emergencies related to epilepsy were timely treated. 48.3%of PWEs thought that the epidemic had an impact on accessing medical services. Hospital data indicated that a decline in ordinary clinic visit, inpatient, surgery, and emergency attendance was observed in January and February 2020 and an increase in March 2020, as the epidemic mitigated. By contrast, online clinic visit soared in February, when the outbreak hit hard. In addition, we found no cross-infection of COVID-19 in our hospital and respondents. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated a much-needed model to manage the PWEs during the outbreak. We believed that the core architecture of this model was suitable for the management of other chronic diseases.