Caraballo Roberto, Fejerman Natalio
Neurology Department, Hospital de Pediatría JP Garrahan, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Epileptic Disord. 2015 Mar;17(1):13-8; quiz 18. doi: 10.1684/epd.2014.0721.
Epilepsy is one of the most common and widespread neurological disorders affecting over 65 million people worldwide. Although estimates vary considerably, the annual incidence is considered to be almost 50 per 100,000 and prevalence around 700 per 100,000. It is thought, however, that more people are affected in low- and middle-income countries where resources to improve the care for people with epilepsy are limited. Of all people with epilepsy, around 80% live in resource-limited countries and up to 90% of these patients receive no treatment at all. National epilepsy programs to organize comprehensive care and cover educational, economic, and research aspects are necessary. A referral network will enable local healthcare workers to consult patients with more complex diseases and may ensure routine availability of inexpensive AEDs. Adequately identifying people with epilepsy and delivering cost-effective care in resource-limited countries is an important challenge for epileptologists and healthcare policy makers alike. Here we give an overview of the present situation and review the needs and the efforts currently being made in the field.
癫痫是最常见且分布广泛的神经系统疾病之一，全球有超过6500万人受其影响。尽管估计数字差异很大，但年发病率被认为约为每10万人中近50例，患病率约为每10万人中700例。然而，据认为在中低收入国家受影响的人数更多，这些国家改善癫痫患者护理的资源有限。在所有癫痫患者中，约80%生活在资源有限的国家，其中高达90%的患者根本没有接受治疗。有必要制定国家癫痫项目，以组织全面护理，并涵盖教育、经济和研究等方面。转诊网络将使当地医护人员能够咨询患有更复杂疾病的患者，并可确保常规提供廉价的抗癫痫药物。在资源有限的国家准确识别癫痫患者并提供具有成本效益的护理，对癫痫学家和医疗政策制定者而言都是一项重大挑战。在此，我们概述当前形势，并审视该领域目前的需求和所做的努力。
