Publications by authors named "R Gandelman-Marton"

Background: Epilepsy-related emergency hospitalizations are associated with risks to patients. Neurologist ambulatory care can improve seizure control and decrease the rates of ED visits and emergency hospitalizations.

Aims: To evaluate the etiologies for emergency epilepsy-related admissions in patients with and without prior epilepsy clinic follow-up, and to identify possible factors that may influence admission rates.

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Vitamin D measurements and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans are recommended in people with intellectual disability and/or epilepsy in order to prevent bone-linked harm. The prevalence of vitamin D supplementation and bone mineral density screening were evaluated in 68 people with epilepsy and intellectual disability (EID) and 68 matched controls with epilepsy without intellectual disability. DXA scans were not performed in any of the people with EID but were performed in 11.

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Objective: Despite recommendations to initiate antiseizure medication treatment once the diagnosis of epilepsy is confirmed, a certain proportion of patients with epilepsy who should receive antiseizure medication treatment remain untreated. We aimed to evaluate the rate of and the reasons for the treatment gap in patients with epilepsy who were referred to their first visit in our epilepsy clinic.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the computerized database and the medical records of all the patients with epilepsy who had their first visit in our outpatient epilepsy clinic during a 10-year period (2012-2021).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluates the use of enzyme-inducing antiseizure medications (EIASMs) among epilepsy patients during their first visit to an outpatient clinic over a decade (2012-2021).
  • Results show a significant decrease in EIASM usage from 35.1% in 2012 to 11.8% in 2021, with older patients and those with longer epilepsy durations being more likely to use these medications.
  • The findings suggest that continued efforts are needed to reduce EIASM use, particularly targeting men with focal epilepsy and those who have had the condition for over 10 years.
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Objectives: Adherence rate to evidence-based clinical practice guidelines is relatively low and the impact of guidelines on clinical practice in epilepsy is variable. The 2015 practice guideline on the management of an unprovoked first seizure in adults specifies clinical variables associated with increased risk of seizure recurrence and the impact of immediate antiseizure medication (ASM) treatment on seizure outcome. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the evidence-based guideline for the management of an unprovoked first seizure in adults on clinical practice in our adult neurology department.

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