Non Epileptic Seizures Patient Perceptions of The Diagnosis and Factors Associated With Prognosis.

There is very little information available on the effects of surgery on the psychological wellbeing of children who have undergone surgery for uncontrolled epilepsy and their families. The evaluation of epilepsy surgery should include seizure reduction as well as psychological and family variables. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive assessment of the children in Ireland who have undergone temporal lobectomy for the relief of intractable temporal lobe epilepsy and their families; together with an assessment of perceived behaviour change, retrospectively rated by the childrens' parents before and following surgery. The assessment evaluated intellectual functioning, behaviour problems, self-esteem, locus of control, family functioning and seizure status. The 20 participants in the study comprised 10 children who had undergone surgery for epilepsy and a comparison group of 10 children who were potential candidates for surgery. The main findings of the study showed that 50% of the children in the surgery group experienced a significant reduction in seizures and these children showed the most improved intellectual and psychological adjustment. A comparison of pre and post operative IQs showed that those who were rendered seizure-free showed no significant deterioration in intellectual functioning unlike those who continued to experience seizures. The two groups showed good personal adjustment on self-esteem and locus of control. Parents current and retrospective behaviour ratings of the children in the surgery-group reported an improvement in behaviour but they still reported clinically significant problems with hyperactivity . The two groups of parents demonstrated good family adjustment which may account for the good overall psychological adjustment of their children. Further research is required is explore more fully the variables that contribute to psychlogical adjustment following surgery for epilepsy