A survey on clinical pathways of patients with epilepsy and cerebrovascular diseases or brain tumors

Patients with seizures and epilepsies comorbid with cerebrovascular disorders (CVDs) or brain tumors (BTs) are managed by different specialists, including neurologists with expertise in epilepsy (epileptologists), CVDs, and neuro-oncology, as well as neurologists without special expertise (general neurologists), and also emergency room physicians (EPs), intensive care physicians, and neurosurgeons. It has never been studied how these specialists interact for the treatment of seizures or epilepsy in these patients.

A survey was used to investigate how patients with such comorbidities are managed in hospitals in Italy.

One hundred and twenty-eight specialists from hospitals in all parts of Italy filled in a questionnaire. Epileptologists were in charge of treatment of epilepsy in about 50% of cases while acute seizures were treated mainly by general neurologists (52% of cases). Diagnostic, therapeutic, and assistance pathways (PDTAs) for CVD and BT epilepsies were declared by physicians in about half of the hospitals while in about a quarter, there were only informal agreements and, in the remaining hospitals, there were no agreements between specialists. CVD neurologists, specialists in internal medicine, and EP were most often in charge of treatment of epilepsy comorbid with CVD. General neurologists, neuro-oncologists, and neurosurgeons were included in teams that manage BT epilepsies while epileptologists were included only in a small percentage of hospitals.

Clinical decisions on epilepsy or seizures in patients with such comorbidities are often handled by different specialists. A new team culture and PDTAs are needed to guarantee high standards of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.