James W. Wheless, MD: Making Treatment Decisions in Epilepsy
The professor and chief of pediatric neurology at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center discussed the decision-making process for choosing interventions for patients with epilepsy, and how to keep patients adherent.
“If I’m treating my seasonal allergies and I forget to take my antihistamine, I might sneeze more, but the risk is not so high. If I have seizure medicine that I’m supposed to take every day and I forget a couple days, then it’s high risk. If I have a seizure while I’m driving or at work—it’s a whole different risk factor.”
At the
The professor and chief of pediatric neurology at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center spoke about the process of determining when a patient might benefit from monotherapy or polytherapy, and how physicians navigate those treatment decisions.
Wheless also shared his insight into addressing the challenges of patient adherence, which, despite its vital nature in epilepsy, is quite poor in that patient population. Adherence is a particular challenge, he said, due to the high risk of seizures that couples with poor adherence. According to Wheless, producing strategies to aid patients in maintaining high adherence and educating patients on its importance is the first step.
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