Revista de neurología y medicina pediátrica

Comparison of the Accuracy of a Paediatric Neurology Fellow and a Specialist Nurse While Following up with Children who have Epilepsy over the Phone

Abstract

Willeke Talbot*

Epilepsy in children places a significant strain on the healthcare system. In addition to a lengthy waiting period for initial and follow-up visits, there are only a few pediatric neurologists available in the majority of developing nations, and caregivers face numerous financial and logistical challenges. To alleviate this burden, telemedicine has been proposed as an efficient alternative. A pediatric neurology fellow's telephonic consultation was compared to that of a specialty nurse; both oppose in-person consultation (the gold standard). One pediatric neurology fellow and one specialty nurse consulted telephonically with caregivers of epileptic children ages 4 to 18 at least 24 hours before their scheduled hospital appointment in a random order. Another pediatric neurology fellow who was blind to the telephonic consultation documented the same after the face-to-face interview during the hospital visit.