Publications by authors named "A R Towne"
Background: The Epilepsy Centers of Excellence (ECoE) is a network of facilities within the Veterans Health Administration that evaluates and treats veterans with epilepsy and seizure disorders. This article outlines how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted ECoE services and recovery.
Methods: Directors of 17 ECoEs were surveyed 4 times between May 2020 and July 2022 on 5 domains: functioning of outpatient epilepsy clinics, outpatient electroencephalogram, epilepsy monitoring unit, anticipated permanent operational changes, and utility of national and local recommendations.
Introduction: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Epilepsy Centers of Excellence (ECoE) was established in 2008 to provide specialized care for veterans with epilepsy. Although established more than a decade ago, there has been no systematic evaluation of the ECoE's performance in key mission areas. We evaluated their performance in several key mission areas-clinical care, research, education, and outreach-since inception to evaluate their success in meeting the initial mandate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate phenotypes of comorbidity before and after an epilepsy diagnosis in a national cohort of post-9/11 Service Members and Veterans and explore phenotypic associations with mortality.
Methods: Among a longitudinal cohort of Service Members and Veterans receiving care in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) from 2002 to 2018, annual diagnoses for 26 conditions associated with epilepsy were collected over 5 years, ranging from 2 years prior to 2 years after the year of first epilepsy diagnosis. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify probabilistic comorbidity phenotypes with distinct health trajectories.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between the timing of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and mortality in veterans with epilepsy, finding that TBI increases mortality risk, especially when it occurs shortly after epilepsy onset.
- Among almost 1 million veterans, those with epilepsy had a significantly higher mortality rate compared to controls, with the most severe risk observed in those with TBI within 6 months of epilepsy diagnosis.
- Results indicate that the timing of TBI in relation to epilepsy is crucial, highlighting a need for targeted care for veterans experiencing these conditions.