Telemedicine for Individuals with epilepsy: Recommendations from the International League Against Epilepsy Telemedicine Task Force

Pauline Samia; Jitendra Kumar Sahu; Amza Ali; Roberto Horacio Caraballo; Josephine Chan; Ana Carolina Coan; Pablo Sebastián Fortini; Samson Gwer; Bosanka Jocic-Jakubi; Najib Kissani; Yanin Rivera; Fred Stephen Sarfo; Mamta Bhushan Singh; Eugen Trinka; Ji Yeoun Yoo; Hsiang-Yu Yu; Johan Zelano; J Helen Cross

doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2023.02.005

Telemedicine for Individuals with epilepsy: Recommendations from the International League Against Epilepsy Telemedicine Task Force

Seizure. 2023 Mar:106:85-91. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2023.02.005. Epub 2023 Feb 10.

Authors

Pauline Samia¹, Jitendra Kumar Sahu², Amza Ali³, Roberto Horacio Caraballo⁴, Josephine Chan⁵, Ana Carolina Coan⁶, Pablo Sebastián Fortini⁷, Samson Gwer⁸, Bosanka Jocic-Jakubi⁹, Najib Kissani¹⁰, Yanin Rivera¹¹, Fred Stephen Sarfo¹², Mamta Bhushan Singh¹³, Eugen Trinka¹⁴, Ji Yeoun Yoo¹⁵, Hsiang-Yu Yu¹⁶, Johan Zelano¹⁷, J Helen Cross¹⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Medical College, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Brain and Mind Institute, Aga Khan University, Ghent University, Belgium. Electronic address: pauline.samia@aku.edu.
² Pediatric Neurology Unit, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh 160012, India.
³ Biotech Research and Development Institute, University of the West Indies, Mona 99999, Jamaica; The Psyence Group, Toronto, ON M5J 2J1, Canada.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Hospital de Pediatría "Prof. Dr. Juan P Garrahan", Buenos Aires, Argentina. Department of Neurology, Hospital de Pediatría JP Garrahan, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁵ WA Adult Epilepsy Service, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁶ Child Neurology Service, Department of Neurology; Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, BRAINN, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
⁷ Hospital de Pediatría "Prof. Dr. Juan P Garrahan", Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁸ Research and Evidence Department, Afya Research Africa, Nairobi, Kenya; School of Medicine, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya.
⁹ Child Health Department, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
¹⁰ Neurology Department, Mohammed VI University Medical Center of Marrakesh, P. O. Box 2360, Marrakesh, Morocco; Neuroscience Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Marrakesh, Cadi Ayyad University, P. O. Box 7010, Marrakesh, Morocco.
¹¹ Clínica de Médicos de Alta Especialidad Satélite, Cto, Naucalpan, Mexico.
¹² Neurology Division, Department of Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
¹³ Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
¹⁴ Department of Neurology, Neurological Intensive Care and Neurorehabilitation, Christian Doppler Medical Centre, Member of the European Reference Network, EpiCARE, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; Neuroscience Institute, Christian Doppler Medical Centre, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, UMIT - University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall in Tirol, Austria; Karl Landsteiner Institute of Neurorehabilitation and Space Neurology, Salzburg, Austria.
¹⁵ Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Brain Science, Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan; School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁷ Institute of neuroscience and physiology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Sweden; Department of Neurology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; Wallenberg Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine, Gothenburg University Sweden.
¹⁸ Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JH, UK; UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH), 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK.

PMID: 36803864
DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2023.02.005

Abstract

Worldwide, People with Epilepsy (PWE) are confronted with several barriers to face-to-face consultations. These obstacles hamper appropriate clinical follow-up and also increase the treatment gap for Epilepsy. Telemedicine holds the potential to enhance management as follow-up visits for PWE are focused on more on clinical history and counselling rather than physical examination. Besides consultation, telemedicine can also be used for remote EEG diagnostics and tele-neuropsychology assessments. In this article, the Telemedicine Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) outlines recommendations regarding optimal practice in utilizing in the management of individuals with epilepsy. We formulated recommendations for minimum technical requirements, preparing for the first tele-consultation and the specificities for follow-up consultations. Special considerations are necessary for specific populations, including paediatric patients, patients who are not conversant with tele-medicine and those with intellectual disability. Telemedicine for individuals with epilepsy should be vigorously promoted with the aim of improving the quality of care and ultimately reduce the wide clinician access related treatment gap across several regions of the globe.

Keywords: Epilepsy; Telemedicine; Teleneurology; Treatment gap.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Child
Epilepsy* / diagnosis
Epilepsy* / therapy
Humans
Intellectual Disability*
Neuropsychological Tests
Referral and Consultation
Telemedicine*