Attitude and Barriers Towards Epilepsy Surgery: A Survey Among Pediatricians and Pediatric Residents in Türkiye

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge and attitude towards epilepsy surgery among pediatricians and identify the barriers to referral for epilepsy surgery in Türkiye. Material and Methods: There were 21 statements which included the following: (A) knowledge (B) attitude and (C) barriers towards epilepsy surgery. The survey was mailed to 368 pediatricians. Results: Among responders (n=240); 56.6% (n=136) were pediatricians and 44.4% (n=104) were pediatric residents. Three quarters (76 %) of them had experiences in neurology department and 60.1 % of them encountered ≥30 epilepsy patients per month. Most of participants who had no idea whether epilepsy surgery is one of the treatment options were residents (p=0.046). Almost all responders (97.5%) agreed to consult a DRE (Drug Resistant Epilepsy) patient to a pediatric neurologist for medical options. Nearly half of them (43.2%) had no idea about long-term positive cognitive effects. Whereas one-third of participants stated that it is not a safe process; more than half (57%) reported not knowing where and when to refer these patients. Conclusion: An important finding was the apparent lack of inadequate knowledge of long-term benefits and the specificity of epilepsy surgery although most of them had previous experience in neurology department. Besides the lack of epilepsy surgery centers, lack of communication is also a problem in planning the referral of patients.