Epilepsy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Epilepsy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2022 Aug;219:107310. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2022.107310. Epub 2022 May 28.
We investigated whether the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the characteristics of functional seizures (FS) at the onset of seizures.
This was a retrospective study of all patients with new-onset FS, who were admitted at the epilepsy monitoring unit at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, during two time periods: the onset of FS and also the diagnosis of FS in 2017-2019 (pre-COVID era) and the onset of FS and also the diagnosis of FS in 2020-2021 (COVID era).
Forty-five patients were studied (32 patients from the pre-COVID era and 13 patients from the COVID era). Patients who developed FS during the pandemic more likely had comorbid epilepsy compared with the patients who presented with FS before the pandemic [30.1% vs. 9.4%; Odds ratio (OR): 81.2]. Furthermore, those who developed FS during the pandemic more likely were employed compared with the patients who presented with FS before the pandemic (46.2% vs. 12.5%; OR: 16.2). A family history of seizures was associated with the FS timing as a trend (OR: 8.4); those who developed FS during the pandemic more likely had a family history of seizures compared with the patients who presented with FS before the pandemic (53.8% vs. 18.8%).
This study showed that patients who developed FS during the COVID-19 pandemic had significant underlying differences (i.e., employment status, comorbid epilepsy, and a family history of seizures) compared with those who presented with FS before the pandemic.
本研究旨在探讨 COVID-19 大流行是否影响了癫痫发作起始时功能性癫痫发作（FS）的特征。
这是一项回顾性研究，纳入了在伊朗设拉子谢里夫医科大学癫痫监测单元就诊的所有新发 FS 患者，研究时间段分为两个时期：FS 发作期（2017-2019 年，即 COVID 前时期）和 FS 诊断期（2020-2021 年，即 COVID 时期）。
共纳入 45 例患者（COVID 前时期 32 例，COVID 时期 13 例）。与 COVID 前时期相比，COVID 时期 FS 患者更可能合并癫痫（30.1% vs. 9.4%；优势比 [OR]：81.2），更可能为在职人群（46.2% vs. 12.5%；OR：16.2）。有癫痫家族史的患者 FS 发作时间呈趋势性差异（OR：8.4），与 COVID 前时期相比，COVID 时期 FS 患者更可能有癫痫家族史（53.8% vs. 18.8%）。
本研究表明，与 COVID 前时期 FS 患者相比，COVID 时期 FS 患者存在显著的潜在差异（即就业状态、合并癫痫和癫痫家族史）。
