Epilepsies in children and young people: investigative procedures and management : a national clinical guideline
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- SIGN publication
- Contributor(s):
- Healthcare Improvement Scotland, issuing body. National Health Service in Scotland, issuing body. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Edinburgh, Scotland : Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), May 2021
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Disease Management Epilepsy -- diagnosis Epilepsy -- therapy Adolescent Child Scotland
- Genre(s):
- Practice Guideline Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological disorder in children. The epilepsies are a heterogeneous group of conditions that have differing diagnostic criteria, management and widely differing outcomes, not only of seizure control but also in terms of implications for learning and behaviour. It is therefore important to identify the specific epilepsy syndrome and aetiology wherever possible to refine the choice of treatment in order to maximise benefit and minimise adverse effects. Children and their parents will also benefit from information appropriate to their particular type of epilepsy. The number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) has rapidly increased in recent years. Owing to a lack of pharmaceutical research in paediatric epilepsy, some of these medications are unlicensed, holding no current marketing authorisation, or are used outside the indication or age range for which they are licensed (off-label use). This makes selecting an appropriate AED even more complex (see section 1.3.2 and Annex 2). Teenagers with epilepsy often have specific needs that are not well addressed by paediatric and adult services. Some of these are covered in SIGN 143: Diagnosis and management of epilepsy in adults. Epilepsy is associated with significant comorbidities and increased incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders (see section 7.1). Recognition and management of coexisting psychiatric comorbidities can be challenging. Within NHSScotland, referral, diagnosis and management of childhood epilepsy occur in primary, secondary and tertiary care settings. A guideline specifically addressing the key areas of care in the management of epilepsy in children helps enable a standardised service to be provided across all of these settings. Taking all of the above into consideration, there is a clear need for evidence-based guidance to enable healthcare professionals to: (1) appropriately investigate children presenting with seizures (2) consider correct management (3) provide appropriate information about epilepsy, morbidity, risks of mortality and comorbidities (4) recognise those who do not respond to initial treatment and consider prompt further treatment (5) identify neurodevelopmental and psychiatric comorbidities early, for further management, and (6) create a clear transition plan for those children who continue to have epilepsy into their adult life.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (104 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918334378406676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918334378406676