Seizure Action Plans for Pediatric Patients With Epilepsy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives: Seizure action plans help patients and caregivers better self-manage their epilepsy. We hypothesized that providing pediatric patients and their caregivers with a seizure action plan would reduce unplanned health care utilization and decrease the impact of epilepsy. Methods: We developed a seizure action plan for use in pediatric epilepsy patients. A prospective cohort was randomly assigned to receive a seizure action plan in addition to standard epilepsy care or to standard epilepsy care alone. All caregivers were surveyed using the Modified Impact on Families (MIF) questionnaire at enrollment, 3 months, and 12 months. Health care utilization measures and Modified Impact on Families questionnaire scores were compared between the 2 groups. Results: Fifty-four patients received a seizure action plan and standard care, whereas 48 received standard care alone. The groups had similar demographics. There was a significantly higher proportion of overall clinic appointment no shows in the standard care group vs the seizure action plan group (P = .04); however, other significant differences in health care utilization were not found. Among patients with low seizure frequency (12 or fewer seizures per year), Seizure comfort scores on the Modified Impact on Families questionnaire were significantly higher at 12 months among the seizure action plan group compared to the standard care group.