Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34252833›Full record

SynthesisEpilepsy & behavior : E&B2021

Considering temporality in causal relationship between seizure worsening and psychological stress in patients with epilepsy during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.

Naoto Kuroda, Ayataka Fujimoto

Open access · bronzeAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis 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 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Naoto KurodaDepartment of Pediatrics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA; Department of Epileptology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. Electronic address: naoto.kuroda@wayne.edu.
Ayataka FujimotoComprehensive Epilepsy Center, Seirei Hamamatsu General Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan.
Seirei Hamamatsu General Hospital · JPWayne State University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate whether published studies that identified a causal relationship between psychological stress and seizure worsening in patients with epilepsy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic considered the temporality of Hill's criteria.

methodA systematic review approach was used to comprehensively search MEDLINE, CENTRAL, EMBASE, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for relevant studies. Studies that reported an association between psychological stress and seizure worsening in patients with epilepsy during the COVID-19 pandemic were included accordingly. The quality of assessments in each study was evaluated and an assessment for considering temporality in the causal relationship between the two events in each study was carried out.

resultsSeventeen studies were included in the analysis. Most (14/17) were cross-sectional studies and only four out of these 17 studies (23.5%) considered temporality in the causality. Further, these four studies did not consider temporality in the study design, they only described it as a limitation.

conclusionWe found that many articles reported a causal relationship between psychological stress and seizure worsening without considering temporality. As both researchers and readers, we need to consider temporality when interpreting the causal relationship between increased psychological stress and seizure worsening in patients with epilepsy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indexed as

COVID-19EpilepsyCross-Sectional StudiesHumansPandemicsSARS-CoV-2SeizuresStress, PsychologicalCausalityCOVID-19EpilepsyHill’s criteriaSeizure controlStressTemporality

Identifiers

PMID34252833
PMCPMC9761278
OpenAlexW3180331729

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.