Rehabilitation in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy: A controlled, 1‐year follow‐up study on a specialized inpatient rehabilitation program

Abstract

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate the efficacy of a specialized inpatient rehabilitation program in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy (NDE), who had been referred within 1 year after diagnosis.MethodsWe performed an open, prospective, controlled study comparing a 1‐year follow‐up assessment of patients with NDE after completing a rehabilitation program at an epilepsy center (rehabilitation group) with a control group of patients with similar epilepsy duration, but without rehabilitation in the first year after diagnosis. Primary outcome measures comprised emotional adaptation to epilepsy, depression and anxiety; and secondary outcome measures were overall quality of life (QoL), overall health, perceived restrictions because of epilepsy, level of information about epilepsy, and employment status.ResultsComparison of the admission data of 74 rehabilitation group patients (mean age and SD 47.7 ± 13.0 years) with the pre‐rehabilitation assessment of 56 control patients (45.5 ± 12.1 years) revealed no significant differences concerning sociodemographic and health data. Comparison of the follow‐up assessment of the rehabilitation group and the pre‐rehabilitation assessment of the control group showed significantly better values for the rehabilitation group on emotional adaptation to epilepsy (p = .003), overall QoL (p = .006) and overall health (p = .011), perceived restrictions because of epilepsy, and subjective level of information about epilepsy (both p's < .001). There were no statistically significant differences concerning depression and anxiety or employment status (all p's > .50). One year after rehabilitation, patients in the rehabilitation group were more often seizure‐free and less often on sickness absence than control group patients (both p's < .001).SignificanceSince reduced QoL shortly after diagnosis of NDE is associated with seizure recurrence, an early identification of patients with a greater need for support seems important. This epilepsy‐related rehabilitation program showed lasting effects on several aspects of adaptation to epilepsy and QoL.