Diagnosis, Costs, and Utilization for Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures in a US Health Care Setting

BackgroundPsychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) pose a substantial burden to patients and the health care system, due to long diagnostic and treatment delays.MethodsThis study used medical chart notes from 103 patients to shed light on the diagnostic process. Electronic medical records and cost data from a US health system were also used to investigate costs and utilization for the 12-months before and after PNES diagnosis.ResultsThe results show that accurate diagnosis was typically achieved via the use of multiple medical tests, including vEEG, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT) scans, as well as historical diagnostic and clinical information. In the year following PNES diagnosis, a decline in average visits (−1.45) and costs (−$1784) were observed. The largest cost savings were seen in neurology care and inpatient stays.ConclusionsThis study has implications for timely and accurate diagnosis of PNES, which may decrease the overall health care burden for individuals and the health care system.