TY - JOUR
T1 - Employment outcomes following resective epilepsy surgery
AU - Chin, Peter S.
AU - Berg, Anne T.
AU - Spencer, Susan S.
AU - Sperling, Michael R.
AU - Haut, Sheryl R.
AU - Langfitt, John T.
AU - Bazil, Carl W.
AU - Walczak, Thaddeus S.
AU - Pacia, Steven V.
AU - Vickrey, Barbara G.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2007/12
Y1 - 2007/12
N2 - Purpose: Analyze determinates of employment changes from before to 2 years after surgery in refractory focal epilepsy patients. Methods: Preoperative employment was prospectively assessed in 375 adults with refractory epilepsy. Two-year postsurgical employment status was obtained for 299; factors potentially associated with employment status change among subgroups unemployed and employed at baseline were analyzed. Results: Presurgical employment status was full-time (n = 148, 39.5%), part-time (n = 26, 6.9%), disabled and unemployed (n = 100, 26.7%), unemployed (n = 44, 11.7%), and other (n = 57, 15.2%). Those with and without 2-year follow-up did not differ on baseline characteristics (all p > 0.10). Two years after surgery, 42.8% were employed full-time and 12.4%, part-time. Among those unemployed before surgery, better seizure outcome was associated with gaining employment at 2 years (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Net employment gains were modest 2 years after surgery and higher with better seizure outcomes, reinforcing the need for optimizing surgical candidate selection, long-term follow-up studies, and postsurgical vocational rehabilitation.
AB - Purpose: Analyze determinates of employment changes from before to 2 years after surgery in refractory focal epilepsy patients. Methods: Preoperative employment was prospectively assessed in 375 adults with refractory epilepsy. Two-year postsurgical employment status was obtained for 299; factors potentially associated with employment status change among subgroups unemployed and employed at baseline were analyzed. Results: Presurgical employment status was full-time (n = 148, 39.5%), part-time (n = 26, 6.9%), disabled and unemployed (n = 100, 26.7%), unemployed (n = 44, 11.7%), and other (n = 57, 15.2%). Those with and without 2-year follow-up did not differ on baseline characteristics (all p > 0.10). Two years after surgery, 42.8% were employed full-time and 12.4%, part-time. Among those unemployed before surgery, better seizure outcome was associated with gaining employment at 2 years (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Net employment gains were modest 2 years after surgery and higher with better seizure outcomes, reinforcing the need for optimizing surgical candidate selection, long-term follow-up studies, and postsurgical vocational rehabilitation.
KW - Employment
KW - Epilepsy surgery
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2007.01208.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2007.01208.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 17645537
AN - SCOPUS:36949029156
SN - 0013-9580
VL - 48
SP - 2253
EP - 2257
JO - Epilepsia
JF - Epilepsia
IS - 12
ER -