Background: Clinical characteristics, outpatient situation, and outcome in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) remain to be elucidated.
Methods: Patients diagnosed with PNES after video-electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring (VEM) 03/2000-01/2016 at the Erlangen Epilepsy Center were surveyed between June 2016 and February 2017. Primary outcome was PNES cessation defined as no PNES episodes within > = 12 months prior to the interview.
Purpose: To evaluate psychosocial long-term outcome in patients diagnosed with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and to predict outcome of PNES, economic status, and quality of life (QoL) at follow-up.
Methods: Patients diagnosed with PNES in the video-EEG-monitoring unit at our Epilepsy center between 2002-2016 were contacted by phone 1-16 years after communicating the diagnosis. Patients underwent a structured interview asking for current PNES status, psychosocial situation (economic status, marital status, setting of living, driving), depression, and QoL.
Objective: To examine the long-term outcome of psychological status, personality, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and to define predictors of favorable outcome of cessation of PNES.
Method: Patients diagnosed with PNES during video-electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring at the Erlangen Epilepsy Center were contacted 1-16 years after communicating the diagnosis. Follow-up information from each participant was obtained by interview (PNES outcome) and by self-reported questionnaires of psychological symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II, Symptom Checklist-90-Standard, Dissociative Symptoms questionnaire), personality traits (Freiburg Personality Inventory-Revised), and HRQoL (36-Item Short Form Health Survey).