About this Research Topic

Background

Over the past two years since the outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a hot topic and affected people all over the world. In epilepsy care, a disease which is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has involved a lot of aspects, including a restriction on access to health care providers for people/patients with epilepsy (PWE) or the risk of COVID-19 in PWE. However, the investigation or research about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on epilepsy care or PWE has not still been completely covered.

The aim of this Research Topic is to address the broad question of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected epilepsy care or PWE. Specifically, we are interested in how health care providers in epilepsy care dealt with the impact of the pandemic and kept the quality of epilepsy care. We also want to learn whether epilepsy could be a risk factor for COVID-19 related events (infection, severe COVID-19, or long-COVID) and identify risk factors in PWE. Finally, we are also interested in the effect/safety of the COVID-19 vaccine/treatment on PWE.

This Research Topic welcomes original research, systematic review/meta-analysis, review articles, opinion papers, or any type of high-quality manuscripts covering epilepsy care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on epilepsy care (epilepsy center level/family physician level/emergency room level/ long-term care facility level, etc.), epilepsy-related examinations (routine EEG, long-term EEG monitoring, neuroimaging, etc.), epilepsy monitoring unit, epilepsy surgery, or diet therapy.

• The effectiveness of the telemedicine or other systems (epilepsy care applications, ambulatory EEG, etc.) specific to during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Investigation of the strength and weakness of telemedicine in epilepsy care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social services (social welfare services, job training, etc.) for PWE.

• Investigation whether the COVID-19 pandemic made PWE get to the appropriate diagnosis/treatment later.

• Whether the COVID-19 pandemic improved or worsened the treatment gap in epilepsy care.

• Whether epilepsy is a risk factor for COVID-19 infection, severe COVID-19, or long-COVID.

• The identification of risk factors of COVID-19 infection, severe COVID-19, long-COVID, or adverse reaction of the vaccine in PWE.

• Whether the COVID-19 vaccine/treatment is as effective and safe in PWE as in the general population.

• The impact of COVID-19 on people/patients with specific diseases related to epilepsy (Dravet syndrome, West syndrome, etc.).

• The prevalence of SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) during the pandemic or infected with COVID-19.

• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research in the field of epilepsy.

• The education of epileptologists during the pandemic at a facility level, society level, national level, and international level.

Keywords: epilepsy, epilepsy care, epilepsy surgery, anti-seizure medication, diet therapy, COVID-19, pandemic, telemedicine, SARS-CoV-2, EEG, EEG monitoring, epilepsy monitoring unit, vaccine, vaccination, adverse reaction, seizure

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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