Abstract
Objectives To identify factors associated with emergency department (ED) attendance amongst patients with epilepsy. Methods Linked electronic primary care and ED health care records were analysed between 1998 and 2012 using the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank. Adults with epilepsy were identified and categorised according to their number of ED attendances for epilepsy. Additional linked records were examined to obtain demographic, socioeconomic and psychiatric co-morbidity information. Results 7292 patients with epilepsy were identified. ED attendance with epilepsy as the primary reason for attendance occurred on a single occasion in 790 (11%) patients, and on two or more occasions for a further 751 (10%) patients. Social deprivation and living alone were significantly associated with ED attendance (p=0.001 and p=0.005). Individuals who had attended A&E for their epilepsy were significantly more likely to suffer from psychiatric co-morbidities (p Conclusion Social deprivation, social isolation and the presence of psychiatric comorbidities in a patient population should be taken into account when constructing policy relating to epilepsy services.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
