Book contents
- Seizure and Epilepsy Care
- Seizure and Epilepsy Care
- Copyright page
- Contents
- 1 How Do I Evaluate a First-Time Seizure?
- 2 How Do I Make an Epilepsy Diagnosis?
- 3 Which Antiseizure Medicines Treat Epilepsy and How Do I Pick?
- 4 How Can I Best Use EEG for Treating Epilepsy Patients?
- 5 What Are Common Epilepsy Imaging Findings in New Onset and Chronic Epilepsy Care?
- 6 How Do I Care for Patients in the Emergency Department and Inpatient Settings?
- 7 How Do I Manage Epilepsy Emergencies Like Status Epilepticus?
- 8 What Is the Best Long-Term Treatment Plan for Epilepsy Patients as an Outpatient?
- 9 What to Do When Your Patient Fails Two Antiseizure Medicines
- 10 Nonepileptic Events and General Psychiatric Care for Epilepsy Patients
- 11 What Are Essential Pediatric Epilepsy Clinical Diagnoses and Treatment Plans?
- Index
- References
8 - What Is the Best Long-Term Treatment Plan for Epilepsy Patients as an Outpatient?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 January 2023
Book contents
- Seizure and Epilepsy Care
- Seizure and Epilepsy Care
- Copyright page
- Contents
- 1 How Do I Evaluate a First-Time Seizure?
- 2 How Do I Make an Epilepsy Diagnosis?
- 3 Which Antiseizure Medicines Treat Epilepsy and How Do I Pick?
- 4 How Can I Best Use EEG for Treating Epilepsy Patients?
- 5 What Are Common Epilepsy Imaging Findings in New Onset and Chronic Epilepsy Care?
- 6 How Do I Care for Patients in the Emergency Department and Inpatient Settings?
- 7 How Do I Manage Epilepsy Emergencies Like Status Epilepticus?
- 8 What Is the Best Long-Term Treatment Plan for Epilepsy Patients as an Outpatient?
- 9 What to Do When Your Patient Fails Two Antiseizure Medicines
- 10 Nonepileptic Events and General Psychiatric Care for Epilepsy Patients
- 11 What Are Essential Pediatric Epilepsy Clinical Diagnoses and Treatment Plans?
- Index
- References
Summary
Outpatient epilepsy care can often be straightforward. This is because around 65% of patients are seizure-free on their antiseizure medicines (ASMs). Management decisions that can simplify patient care prominently include minimizing ASM dosing complexity, preferably with monotherapy and once daily dosing. Choosing ASMs with lower side effect profiles and interaction potential is also ideal. Proactively addressing comorbidities of epilepsy and its treatment can improve quality of care. Some ASMs can negatively affect bone health so routine calcium and vitamin D supplementation is useful.Psychiatric care is comprehensively discussed in Chapter 9. The relative lack of need for ASM level monitoring is discussed. The decision to stop ASM therapy and how to do it is discussed. Lastly, the chapter concludes with a concise and thorough discussion of specific management considerations for women with epilepsy. Topics include the hormone cause of the catamenial pattern as well as ASMs and contraception, pregnancy, and breast feeding.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Seizure and Epilepsy CareThe Pocket Epileptologist, pp. 139 - 155Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
References
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