METHODS: This study was conducted at 28 centres from February 2020 to April 2020. Participants filled out a 62-item online survey including sociodemographic, COVID-19-related, epilepsy-related and psychological variables and were divided into two groups based on whether their seizure frequency increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chi-square tests and t-tests were used to test differences in significant characteristics. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk factors for seizure worsening.
RESULTS: A total of 1,237 adult PWE were enrolled for analysis. Of this sample, 31 (8.33%) patients experienced an increase in seizures during the pandemic. Multivariate logistic regression suggested that feeling nervous about the pandemic (P < 0.05), poor quality of life (P = 0.001), drug reduction/withdrawal (P = 0.032), moderate anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak (P = 0.046) and non-seizure free before the COVID-19 outbreak (P < 0.05) were independently related to seizure increase during the pandemic.
CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, PWE with poor quality of life and mental status, as well as AED reduction/withdrawal, were more likely to experience seizure increase. This observation highlights the importance of early identification of the population at high risk of seizure worsening and implementation of preventive strategies during the pandemic.
方法:本研究于2020年2月至2020年4月在28个中心进行。参与者填写了一项62项在线调查,包括社会人口统计,COVID-19相关,癫痫相关和心理变量,根据COVID-19大流行期间癫痫发作频率是否增加,分为两组。采用卡方检验和t检验检验显著性特征的差异。使用多逻辑回归分析来确定癫痫发作恶化的危险因素。
结果:共纳入1,237名成人PWE进行分析。在这个样本中,31例(8.33%)患者在大流行期间癫痫发作增加。多因素logistic回归分析显示,对流感大流行感到紧张(P<0.05),生活质量差(P=0.001),药物减少/停药(P=0.032),COVID-19爆发期间的中度焦虑(P=0.046)和COVID-19爆发前的非癫痫发作(P<0.05)与大流行期间癫痫发作增加独立相关。
结论:在COVID-19大流行期间,生活质量和精神状态差的PWE,以及AED减少/退出,更有可能出现癫痫发作增加。这一观察结果强调了在大流行期间早期识别癫痫发作高危人群和实施预防策略的重要性。