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AIM: to evaluate specific measures of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with epilepsy including patient- and proxy-reports, to determine their suitability for use in the clinical setting. METHOD: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO Scopus for studies on the development of new epilepsy-specific PROMs from 2019, when the most recent systematic review on the topic was published, onwards combining terms for HRQoL in pediatric epilepsy with generic terms for PROMs. Then, we selected the studies that analyzed the agreement between child and caregiver ratings. RESULTS: We identified five scales i.e., the QoLPES, the HARCES, the PedsQL-Epilepsy Module, and the CHEQoL-25 and observed a moderate to high agreement between the proxy-reports and child self-reports. The CHEQoL-25 appears to be preferable due to its well-documented psychometric properties, high usability, and adequate agreement between proxy and child versions. INTERPRETATION: This scoping review highlights the need to use PROMs that allow to gather information from both the caregiver and child, with the CHEQoL-25 being the best candidate for assessing HRQol in children with epilepsy.

This article is from Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology , volume 17 . Abstract Introduction:: The data in the scientific literature about the significance of seizure severity and frequency for the quality of life (QOL) of patients with refractory epilepsy (RE) are contradictory. Objective:: Our objective was to assess the impact of the seizure severity and frequency on the QOL of Bulgarian patients with RE. Materials and Methods:: A total of 70 patients with RE were studied by examining the medical documentation and seizure diaries. All study participants completed quality of life epilepsy inventory (QOLIE-89). Seizure severity of only 59 patients who had a seizure in the last month was assessed by the Liverpool seizure severity scale. Results:: A limited negative impact of the seizure severity and frequency on some aspects of the physical health, epilepsy, all aspects of the social health and epilepsy and the overall QOL has been demonstrated. A weak to moderate reverse correlation between the specified factors and the respective QOLIE-89 subscales has been found. Conclusion:: The clinical factors seizure severity and seizure frequency have a limited negative impact mostly on the social aspects of QOL. The study results support the multidisciplinary approach to persons with epilepsy.

Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory 10 (QOLIE-10) and QOLIE-31 is used to measure patient’s quality of life. While longer version of QOLIE-31 is thought to have higher validity and reliability, QOLIE-10 is shorter and more practical to use in clinical setting. This study aimed to compare Indonesian version of QOLIE-10 and QOLIE-31. This was a cross sectional study conducted at Dr. Moewardi General Hospital, Surakarta, Indonesia. Participant were asked to complete the Indonesian version of QOLIE-10 and QOLIE-31, and data obtained then analysed to find the correlation between QOLIE-10 and QOLIE-31. A total of 51 epilepsy patients were included on this study. We observed correlation of 0.41 to 0.84 (p<0.05) for each item of QOLIE-10 with their respective QOLIE-31 subscale. We also found correlation value of 0.898 (p=.000) between total score of QOLIE-10 and QOLIE-31 showing strong positive correlation of two questionnaire. Independent T-sample test on QOLIE-10 and QOLIE-31 T-score result of p=.361, showing no statistical difference between two questionnaires. Frequency of seizure is correlated with patients’ quality of life. QOLIE-10 has strong positive correlation to QOLIE-31, which make it a useful tool to assess epilepsy patients’ quality of life.

Aim: The effects of the presence of epilepsy in Cerebral palsy (CP) on the quality of life (QOL) of mothers and their families are not clear. In this regard, our study aimed to evaluate the effects of the presence of epilepsy in CP on the QOL of mothers and families. Material and Methods: The study was conducted with 61 mothers whose children had CP, and 25 mothers with healthy children as the control group. Mothers whose children had CP were divided into two groups: children with epilepsy (n = 22) and children without epilepsy (n = 39). All mothers assessed their QOL using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire, and their family life qualities were assessed with the Beach Center Family Quality of Life (BC-FQOL) scale. Results: Despite the fact that mothers of children with CP had the lowest scores on the SF-36 for the physical component summary (PCS) and for the mental component summary (MCS) scores compared with the epilepsy group, there was no significant difference between the groups (p> 0.05). In the BC-FQOL, emotional well-being and disability-related support scores were significantly lower in the epilepsy group (p <0.05). Discussion: Mothers of epileptic children with CP have a worse QOL tendency in both physical and mental health, but there is no significant difference compared to the other mothers.

This article is from Journal of Clinical Neurology (Seoul, Korea) , volume 7 . Abstract Background and Purpose: Levetiracetam (LEV) is a new antiepileptic drug that has been found to be effective as an adjunctive therapy for uncontrolled partial seizures. However, the results of several studies suggested that LEV has negative psychotropic effects, including irritability, aggressiveness, suicidality, and mood disorders. We investigated the impact of adjunctive LEV on psychiatric symptoms and quality of life (QOL) in patients with drug-refractory epilepsy (DRE) and determined the risk factors provoking psychiatric adverse events. Methods: A 24-week, prospective, open-label study was conducted. At enrollment, we interviewed patients and reviewed their medical charts to collect demographic and clinical information. They were asked to complete self-report health questionnaires designed to measure various psychiatric symptoms and QOL at enrollment and 24 weeks later. Results: Seventy-one patients were included in the study, 12 patients (16.9%) of whom discontinued LEV therapy due to serious adverse events including suicidality. The risk factor for premature withdrawal was a previous history of psychiatric diseases (odds ratio 4.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.22-17.32). LEV intake resulted in significant improvements in Beck Anxiety Inventory score (p