Improving the Rates of Seizure Action Plan Usage in Adults With Epilepsy

"Adults should know, and more importantly, the people around them should know what to do.”

In a recent study, only 30% of adult patients with epilepsy responded that they have a seizure action plan (SAP), and only 45% of pediatric patients had an SAP. While adults with epilepsy will have very differently developed SAPs than pediatric patients, the importance of maintaining and adjusting an SAP as a patient gets older is still critical.

Developing an SAP can provide clarification on patient and caregiver concerns, such as understanding what to do during a seizure, when watchful waiting is appropriate, when to intervene with at-home rescue medication, when to call 911 or go to the hospital, and much more. For adults with epilepsy, they may have moved away from their parents and are now responsible for their own actions with no caregiver around them.

As part of SAP Awareness Week, February 8 to 15, 2021, NeurologyLive hosted a roundtable discussion with multiple leaders within the epilepsy community. Scott Perry, MD, co-director, Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center, Cook Children’s Hospital; Orrin Devinksy, MD, director, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, NYU Langone; and Tracy Salazar, PhD, executive director, LGS Foundation, all participated in the multi-segment conversation.

The second segment of the discussion is centered around the need to improve SAP rates among adults with epilepsy, and why the importance of them does not deteriorate as a patient gets older.