Developing Regional Guidelines of Epilepsy for Multidisciplinary Teams
Somsak Tiamkao MD*,******, Sineenard Pranboon MSN**,******, Sunee Lertsinudom BSc, BCP***,******, Nanthaphan Chainirun BPharm****,******, Supinya Tuntapakul BPharm, BCP***,******, Siriporn Tiamkao MD*****,******, Kutcharin Phunikhom MD*****,******
Affiliation : * Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand ** Nursing Division, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand *** Department of clinical pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand **** Pharmacy Department, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Thailand ***** Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand ****** Integrated Epilepsy Research Group, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Background : Treatment of the northeastern epileptic patients cannot totally follow the Thai Clinical Practice Guidelines
(CPG) for Epilepsy due to a number of constraints.
Objective : To create the Regional CPG for Epilepsy for the multi-professionals in the Northeast.
Material and Method: Surveying the facilities of epilepsy services in the northeastern hospitals; brainstorming the opinions
of experts, who work with northeastern epilepsy cases, on the 2017 Thai CPG for Epilepsy of Thailand Epilepsy Society in
order to compile the limitations of the method and draft the epilepsy treatment guidelines for the multi-disciplinary team in the
Northeast context; submitting the draft of the Regional CPG for Epilepsy to the health professional teams in the northeastern
hospitals for recommendations; applying the recommendations to create the Regional CPG for Epilepsy for the multidisciplinary
team, which correspond to the context of the Northeast.
Results : The Regional CPG for Epilepsy is created for the professional multidisciplinary team. The Regional CPG is
composed of guidelines for interviewing a patient’s history and performing physical examination for diagnosing and
distinguishing seizures and epileptic types, guidelines for providing care to patients with first and recurrence seizures,
guidelines for managing antiepileptic drugs, and guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of recurrence seizures. Additional
contents include guidelines for managing mental problems of epileptic patients, a model for epilepsy clinic, a system of
antiepileptic drugs distribution in the Northeast and a system of blood specimen collection for therapeutic drug monitoring
(TDM).
A conference was scheduled to explain the created Regional CPG for Epilepsy to the multidisciplinary medical team.
The Regional CPG for Epilepsy was published in a textbook format and a video produced with the same content. Copies of the
book were dispatched to all hospitals in the Northeast and all Medical Study Centers. The video has been publicized online at:
youtube.com/kku.
Conclusion : The Regional CPG for Epilepsy for multidisciplinary medical teams in the Northeast has been created based on
the professional standards. The guidelines are in accordance with the limited resources of personnel, antiepileptic drugs, and
treatment equipment and tools. It is expected that the Regional CPG for Epilepsy will be of optimal benefits in service provision
to patients with epilepsy.
Keywords : Treatment guidelines, Epilepsy, Regional guideline, Multidisciplinary teams
