The impact of a single seizure on health status and health care utilization

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the health status of patients after a single seizure. Methods: We compared single-seizure patients (SS) with patients who had well- controlled epilepsy (WC), and uncomplicated hypertension (HT). Patients were adults screened from emergency and outpatient units of two urban teaching hospitals using predefined criteria. The 83 patients (SS, 30; WC, 29; HT, 24) were interviewed by phone about functional status (SF-36), comorbid illness, cause of illness, number of visits to health providers, and drag side effects. Results: No significant differences were found among groups for health status, SF-36 domain, or occurrence of drag side effects. SS patients had significantly lower scores on vitality (p < 0.03) and a trend toward lower role physical function (p < 0.07) compared with age-adjusted population norms. SS reported more visits to health providers than WC or HT, and the number of visits remained high at interview 1 year later. Patient knowledge of the 'reason' for the seizure was not associated with health status or number of visits. Conclusions: Health status of patients within 1 year of single seizure is similar to that of patients with well-controlled epilepsy or hypertension, but SS patients have greater health care utilization.