Epilepsy center characteristics and geographic region influence presurgical testing in the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Persons with drug-resistant epilepsy may benefit from epilepsy surgery and should undergo presurgical testing to determine potential candidacy and appropriate intervention. Institutional expertise can influence use and availability of evaluations and epilepsy surgery candidacy. This census survey study aims to examine the influence of geographic region and other center characteristics on presurgical testing for medically intractable epilepsy.

Methods

We analyzed annual report and supplemental survey data reported in 2020 from 206 adult epilepsy center directors and 136 pediatric epilepsy center directors in the United States. Test utilization data were compiled with annual center volumes, available resources, and US Census regional data. We used Wilcoxon rank-sum,

SUBMITTER: Ahrens SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10099541 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature