Attributing seizures to TBI: Validation of a brief patient questionnaire.
PURPOSE
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important cause of epilepsy and has also been associated with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). We designed a brief questionnaire assessing patient beliefs regarding TBI as the cause of their seizures (Patient Seizure Etiology Questionnaire; PSEQ). This study reports content validity for the PSEQ.


METHODS
Ninety Veterans undergoing comprehensive evaluation at 3 VA epilepsy centers completed the PSEQ, a series of questions regarding possible causes for their seizures, including TBI. The PSEQ was scored as YES vs. NO for TBI as the proposed cause of seizures. For each patient, two expert reviewers independently completed a structured chart review to determine whether TBI was the proposed cause of seizures (n=180 reviews). Kappa statistic was used to assess agreement between the PSEQ and each chart review and between the PSEQ and combined chart reviews where both reviewers agreed on a TBI seizure etiology.


RESULTS
The PSEQ scored higher overall rates for a TBI seizure etiology than did expert chart reviews (40% vs. 28%; p<0.001). The PSEQ agreed with 82% of 180 independent chart reviews (sensitivity 88%; specificity 79%). Kappa statistic for agreement was 0.60. The two reviewers agreed on a probable TBI seizure etiology for 83% of chart reviews. The PSEQ sensitivity increased to 100% when both reviewers were in agreement.


CONCLUSION
The PSEQ provides a direct, standardized measure of patient beliefs regarding TBI as the cause of their seizures and has moderate-substantial agreement with expert chart reviews.
['Salinsky|Martin|M|', 'Parko|Karen|K|', 'Rutecki|Paul|P|', 'Boudreau|Eilis|E|', 'Storzbach|Daniel|D|']
D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic D004827:Epilepsy D006801:Humans D008297:Male D015203:Reproducibility of Results D012640:Seizures D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity D013001:Somatoform Disorders D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D014728:Veterans
TBI Epilepsy Veterans Psychogenic seizures