Patient seizure counts are invalid

Asking patients with focal epilepsy how often they have seizures does not appear to provide an accurate count, according to a report. Researchers in Germany studied 91 consecutive patients with focal epilepsy who were admitted to a video-EEG monitoring unit between 1 October, 2004 and 31 July, 2005. The patients were outfitted with electrodes and monitored by video for an average of 4.5 days. All were asked to keep a seizure diary and to push a warning button, summoning a nurse when they felt a seizure coming. About half were randomly assigned to receive daily reminders about documenting all seizures…