UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

EpiNet as a way of involving more physicians and patients in epilepsy research: Validation study and accreditation process

Bergin, PS; Beghi, E; Sadleir, LG; Brockington, A; Tripathi, M; Richardson, MP; Bianchi, E; ... D'Souza, WJ; + view all (2017) EpiNet as a way of involving more physicians and patients in epilepsy research: Validation study and accreditation process. Epilepsia Open , 2 (1) pp. 20-31. 10.1002/epi4.12033. Green open access

[thumbnail of Winston_Bergin_et_al-2017-Epilepsia_Open.pdf]
Preview
Text
Winston_Bergin_et_al-2017-Epilepsia_Open.pdf - Published Version

Download (208kB) | Preview

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: EpiNet was established to encourage epilepsy research. EpiNet is used for multicenter cohort studies and investigator-led trials. Physicians must be accredited to recruit patients into trials. Here, we describe the accreditation process for the EpiNet-First trials. METHODS: Physicians with an interest in epilepsy were invited to assess 30 case scenarios to determine the following: whether patients have epilepsy; the nature of the seizures (generalized, focal); and the etiology. Information was presented in two steps for 23 cases. The EpiNet steering committee determined that 21 cases had epilepsy. The steering committee determined by consensus which responses were acceptable for each case. We chose a subset of 18 cases to accredit investigators for the EpiNet-First trials. We initially focused on 12 cases; to be accredited, investigators could not diagnose epilepsy in any case that the steering committee determined did not have epilepsy. If investigators were not accredited after assessing 12 cases, 6 further cases were considered. When assessing the 18 cases, investigators could be accredited if they diagnosed one of six nonepilepsy patients as having possible epilepsy but could make no other false-positive errors and could make only one error regarding seizure classification. RESULTS: Between December 2013 and December 2014, 189 physicians assessed the 30 cases. Agreement with the steering committee regarding the diagnosis at step 1 ranged from 47% to 100%, and improved when information regarding tests was provided at step 2. One hundred five of the 189 physicians (55%) were accredited for the EpiNet-First trials. The kappa value for diagnosis of epilepsy across all 30 cases for accredited physicians was 0.70. SIGNIFIANCE: We have established criteria for accrediting physicians using EpiNet. New investigators can be accredited by assessing 18 case scenarios. We encourage physicians with an interest in epilepsy to become EpiNet-accredited and to participate in these investigator-led clinical trials.

Type: Article
Title: EpiNet as a way of involving more physicians and patients in epilepsy research: Validation study and accreditation process
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1002/epi4.12033
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/epi4.12033
Language: English
Additional information: © 2016 The Authors. Epilepsia Open published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of International League Against Epilepsy. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Clinical and Movement Neurosciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1541162
Downloads since deposit
139Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item