Knowledge and attitudes of critical care providers towards neurophysiological monitoring, seizure diagnosis, and treatment

Abstract

To explore the attitudes of paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) health care professionals towards diagnosis and neurophysiological monitoring of seizures. This study used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, interconnecting quantitative and qualitative features, comprising questionnaires and interviews, with equal weighting between stages, of health care professionals working in UK PICUs. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis and triangulated with questionnaire data. Seventy-two questionnaires were returned: 49 out of 60 (71.0%) of respondents reported that seizures were extremely hard or somewhat hard to diagnose in a critically ill child, and 81.2% had seen misdiagnosis occur. Thematic analysis revealed two main themes: (1) feeling out of control when faced with 'grey areas'; and (2) regaining control, which compromised three subthemes: aggressive intervention, accurate diagnosis, and eschewing diagnosis. Health care professionals find accurate diagnosis of seizures difficult, particularly in sedated/paralysed children and those with chronic neurological disorders. They report they would like better educational opportunities on discriminating between epileptic and non-epileptic events to improve their confidence. Professionals want routine neurophysiological monitoring that can be applied and interpreted at the bedside throughout the day to regain a sense of control over their patient, direct treatment appropriately, and, potentially, improve outcomes, but report appropriate training and peer review are essential if it is to be introduced into routine care.