Bengaluru: A medical expert has mooted that guidelines for treatment of epilepsy should be updated and this would help doctors practicing in public health centres and in rural areas. They were last revised by the Indian Epilepsy Society in 2008.
Dr G.T. Subhas, consultant neurologist, PMSSY Super Specialty Hospital said, “It is a continuous process as classifications are changing and with the advancement in treatment methods and diagnosis for epilepsy, the need for updating the guidelines becomes important. With the advent of new drugs, treatment has improved, but it also carries the risk of side effects. Hence, there is a need to have guidelines in place to recommend what drugs to administer at what stage.”
At present, there are over 30 drugs to treat epilepsy patients. If the new guidelines are approved by the State government, there would be a clear classification on what drugs could be prescribed at what age. For instance, it would lay down guidelines for doctors not to prescribe certain drugs for women at a child bearing age.
Dr Subhas pointed out that the guidelines will also throw light on a need for better syndromic diagnosis. He said continuous monitoring of the EEG at the Intensive Care Units could help detect a non-convulsive epilepsy (with no physical convulsions, fits) and should this be treated early, the complications could be minimized.
He also called for a revised classification of medication and treatment for the pediatric group, better ICU management and critical care and also emphasis on drugs to be administered for expectant mothers or a woman in the child bearing age.
Epilepsy is a common neurological problem and has been considered a public health problem by World Health Organization (WHO), the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and a global campaign was launched against epilepsy in 1997.
