A global survey on the attitudes of neurologists and psychiatrists about functional/psychogenic/dissociative/nonepileptic-seizures/attacks, in the search of its name

Purpose: We conducted an observational study to investigate the opinions of neurologists and psychiatrists all around the world who are taking care of patients with seizures [epilepsy and functional seizures (FS)].Methods: Practicing neurologists and psychiatrists from around the world were invited to participate in an online survey. On 29th September 2022, an e-mail including a questionnaire was sent to the members of the International Research in Epilepsy (IR-Epil) Consortium. The study was closed on 1st March 2023. The survey, conducted in English, included questions about physicians' opinions about FS and anonymously collected data.Results: In total, 1003 physicians from different regions of the world participated in the study. Both neurologists and psychiatrists identified seizures as their preferred term. Overall, the most preferred modifiers for seizures were psychogenic followed by functional by both groups. Most participants (57.9%) considered FS more difficult to treat compared to epilepsy. Both psychological and biological problems were considered as the underlying cause of FS by 61% of the respondents. Psychotherapy was considered the first treatment option for patients with FS (79.9%).Conclusion: Our study represents the first large-scale attempt of investigating physicians & PRIME; attitudes and opinions about a condition that is both frequent and clinically important. It shows that there is a broad spectrum of terms used by physicians to refer to FS. It also suggests that the biopsychosocial model has gained its status as a widely used framework to interpret and inform clinical practice on the management of patients.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigates the opinions of neurologists and psychiatrists worldwide who are caring for patients with seizures. A total of 1003 physicians participated in the study and identified seizures as their preferred term, with "psychogenic" and "functional" being the most preferred modifiers. The study also found that functional seizures were considered more difficult to treat than epilepsy, and psychotherapy was the preferred treatment option.