IMPROVED HEALTH-CARE RESOURCE UTILIZATION FOLLOWING VIDEO-EEG-CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS OF NONEPILEPTIC PSYCHOGENIC SEIZURES

The economic burden of epilepsy is well recognized. However, empirical investigation establishing costs associated with the diagnosis and tr eatment of non-epileptic psychogenic seizures (NEPS) is lacking. We st udied 20 patients with video/EEG monitoring-confirmed NEPS to determin e the effect of definitive diagnosis and treatment on medical costs an d utilization. A medical resource utilization questionnaire and inpati ent medical chart review were employed to calculate utilization inform ation. Medication usage, outpatient visits, emergency room admissions, and diagnostic testing over a 6-month pre-diagnosis and a 6-month pos t-diagnosis period were compared. There was an 84% average reduction i n total seizure-related medical charges in the 6 months following NEPS diagnosis. Average diagnostic testing charges declined 76%, average m edication charges decreased 69%, outpatient clinic visits declined 80% , and emergency room visits reduced by 97%. A majority of patients obt aining a definitive inpatient video/EEG-seizure-monitoring-confirmed N EPS diagnosis experience substantial reductions in health care utiliza tion and dollar costs.