Calidad de vida de pacientes adultos con epilepsia atendidos en el Hospital de Especialidades José Carrasco Arteaga, Cuenca. 2018

Abstract

The quality of life of patients with epilepsy is altered by the therapy received, the seizures, as well as the social environment, the emotional situation and the cognitive alterations. Objective. - To determine the quality of life of adult patients with epilepsy, who attend the medical consultation at the José Carrasco Arteaga Hospital in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. Materials and methods. - A descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample calculated by Fisher's formula was 104 patients. The questionnaire Quality of life in Epilepsy Inventory-31 (QUOLIE 31) was applied to each patient. The data were tabulated in the software SPSS 20 and the results are presented in frequency tables. Results. - In 104 patients 49% (n = 51) have poor quality of life; 23.1% (n = 24) regular and 27.9% (n = 29) between good and excellent. The mean of the global score confirms that the quality of life in general is bad (score 60). 48.1% are affected by the effects of medication and 54.8% are affected emotionally. Patients on monotherapy had a better score (score 68) compared to patients with two and three antiepileptic drugs (scores of 56 and 55 respectively). Conclusions. - The quality of life of most adult patients with epilepsy is poor. Of all the spheres, social relations are the least harmful and it is positively related to wellbeing. The concern to suffer a crisis is what most affects the quality of life of patients.