ArticleEpilepsy & behavior : E&B2021
The impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on outpatient epilepsy care: An analysis of physician practices in Germany.
Article in Epilepsy & behavior : E&B, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Adherence to Chronic Therapies: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Using electronic medical records to analyze outpatient visits of persons with epilepsy during the pandemic-experience from a low middle income country.Acta epileptologica · 2025Article
- Management of patients with neurological diseases considering post-pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related risks and dangers - An updated European Academy of Neurology consensus statement.European journal of neurology · 2024Article
- Despite the pandemic: upward trajectories of medication adherence and persistence in patients with dyslipidemia.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- The association between epilepsy and COVID-19: analysis based on Mendelian randomization and FUMA.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Therapeutic Continuity among Outpatients with Chronic Cardiovascular Therapies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health status and care of adults with epilepsy in Germany.Neurological research and practice · 2022Article
- Investigation of the prevalence of non-COVID-19 infectious diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.Public health · 2022Article
- Evaluation and Treatment of Seizures and Epilepsy During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2022Review
- Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on medication adherence: In the case of antiseizure medications, A scoping review.Seizure · 2021Article
- Prioritizing Seizure Safety and SUDEP Counseling in People With Epilepsy and Their Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Pediatric neurology · 2021Article
- Drop in biological initiation for patients with psoriasis during the COVID-19 pandemic.The British journal of dermatology · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo gain insight into epilepsy care during coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, we analyzed prescription data of a large cohort of persons with epilepsy (PWE) during lockdown in Germany.
methodsInformation was obtained from the Disease Analyzer database, which collects anonymous demographic and medical data from practice computer systems of general practitioners (GP) and neurologists (NL) throughout Germany. We retrospectively compared prescription data for anti-seizure medication (ASM) and physicians' notes of "known" and "new" PWE from January 2020 until May 2020 with the corresponding months in the three preceding years 2017-2019. Adherence was estimated by calculating the proportion of patients with follow-up prescriptions within 90 days after initial prescriptions in January or February. We additionally analyzed hospital referrals of PWE. The significance level was set to 0.01 to adjust for multiple comparisons.
resultsA total of 52,844 PWE were included. Anti-seizure medication prescriptions for known PWE increased in March 2020 (GP + 36%, NL + 29%; P < 0.01). By contrast, a decrease in prescriptions to known and new PWE was observed in April and significantly in May 2020 ranging from -16% to -29% (P < 0.01). The proportion of PWE receiving follow-up prescriptions was slightly higher in 2020 (73.5%) than in 2017-2019 (70.7%, P = 0.001). General practitioners and NL referred fewer PWE to hospitals in March 2020 (GP: -30%, P < 0.01; NL: -12%), April 2020 (GP: -29%, P < 0.01; NL: -37%), and May 2020 (GP: -24%, P < 0.01; NL: -16%).
conclusionAdherence of known PWE to ASM treatment appeared to remain stable during lockdown in Germany. However, this study revealed findings which point to reduced care for newly diagnosed PWE as well as fewer hospital admissions. These elements may warrant consideration during future lockdown situations.
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