Pharmacophore an International Research Journal
Epilepsy surgery is the gold standard for treating childhood epilepsy, which virtually always results in seizure elimination. In addition to preventing future seizures, a primary goal of surgery is to maintain or even advance cognitive growth. Regarding neurological and psychological health, epilepsy surgery may be a game-changer for individuals. This study aims to assess the levels of knowledge and attitudes toward pediatric epilepsy surgery among neuro residents, specialists, and consultants in Saudi Arabia. And evaluate the factors that affect the physicians’ knowledge and attitudes. A self-administered online questionnaire was done through the Google Documents platform and distributed among the neurologists. It contains three sections: demographic information, knowledge, and attitudes towards epilepsy surgery. The study included 162 participants, 60% of whom were neuro specialists, 34% were neuro residents, and 6.2% were neuro consultants. 37% of participants had five to ten years of experience in their field while 38.3% had less than five years of experience. Only 4.3% of participants had good knowledge of pediatric epilepsy surgery, 67.3% had moderate knowledge, and 28.4% had poor knowledge. Regarding attitude, 35.2% of participants had a positive attitude toward pediatric epilepsy surgery, 31.5% had a neutral attitude, and 33.3% had a negative attitude. In conclusion, Saudi neurologists have poor knowledge and negative attitudes toward epilepsy surgery for pediatric patients. Continuous physician education is required, with a focus on early diagnosis of drug resistance when patients fail to respond to antiepileptic drugs.
