The social and demographics characteristics of neurosurgical patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY is to analyze the social and demographic characteristics of neurosurgical patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. A non-randomised, retrospective parallel group study was conducted at Polenov Neurosurgical Institute, a branch of Almazov National Research Centre.
THE OBJECT OF THE STUDY was neurosurgical patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. The subject of the study was social and demographic indicators.
The study involved 100 patients diagnosed with pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy and treated at the DeparTment of Functional Neurosurgery No. 2 of Polenov Neurosurgical Institute in 2022.
Patients were divided into 2 groups depending on the type of surgical procedure: Group 1 — those who underwent resective surgery, and Group 2 — destructive surgery. Social, demographic and clinical data were examined in both groups and the cohort. Social functioning was assessed by education, employment and disability status.
RESULTS. Group 1 consisted of 78 patients; group 2 included 22 patients. Patients ranged in age from 19 to 54 years, with an average age of 32.3±8.18 years. males outnumbered females, 53 % and 47 % respectively. The mean duration of epilepsy in the cohort was 20.09±9.24 years, with no difference between groups. The level of education in the cohort was characterised by a preponderance of vocational education at 42 % compared to general secondary education at 24 % and tertiary education at 34 %. There were twice as many unemployed as employed people in the cohort — 63.9 % and 30.6 %. The number of patients with disabilities was 59 %, with patients with disabilities predominating in Group 1 and patients without disabilities in Group 2.
CONCLUSION. There were no significant differences in social functioning between the groups, as there was no difference in the duration of the disease before treatment. Long-term disease progression has a negative impact on social functioning in people with epilepsy. The neurosurgical cohort with drug-resistant epilepsy is characterised by problems of social adjustment: Two-thirds were disabled and unemployed, and a quarter of patients had only a school leaving certificate and no qualifications. There is a need to actively inform physicians and patients about existing surgical management options for epilepsy in order to increase the use of modern epilepsy neurosurgery.

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