Objectives
This study assessed impacts of non-seizure outcomes and caregiver priorities for improvement in individuals with severe neurodevelopmental encephalopathy with or without epilepsy (SNDE ± E).
Methods
In an online survey of parents recruited from several patient advocacy groups, parents rated the impacts of 17 non-seizure outcome domains on their children and identified their top three priority domains for improvement. Bivariate and stratified analyses compared impacts and priorities by burden of severe functional impairments, age, and diagnoses.
Results
Of 267 participants, 149 (56 %) were female (median [interquartile range] age: 8.7y [4.2y – 14.7y) and 169 (63 %) had epilepsy diagnoses. Profound impairments were reported for mobility (N = 142, 53 %), communication (N = 208, 78 %), eating (N = 100, 37 %), and hand use (N = 93, 35 %). Expressive communication had overwhelming or significantly negative impacts in 217 (83 %) followed by receptive communication (N = 185, 70 %). Parents identified expressive communication as a top (N = 211, 79 %) priority for improvement. The impact and prioritization of expressive communication were independent of other functional impairments, age, and other diagnoses. For those with epilepsy, relative to non-seizure outcomes, seizures were rated as more important by 35 % and of similar or less importance by 65 %; this strongly depended on recency of the last seizure (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions
Improvement in expressive communication is a top priority in the SNDEs ± E and could be a valuable non-seizure outcome in future therapeutic trials for these rare diseases.
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