Epilepsy Management is a Team Sport

Presentation Description / Summary: Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological presentation in first opinion and specialist practice, but just thinking of it as a simple seizure disorder, which can be controlled with anti-seizure drugs, would be far too simple. Dogs with epilepsy have an increased risk of developing behavioural changes and early death. More than two thirds of dogs with epilepsy will continue to have seizures long-term and around 20-30% will remain poorly controlled despite adequate treatment. Behavioural changes, the effects of recurrent seizure activity and anti-epileptic drugs can affect significantly the Quality of Life (QoL) of affected dogs e.g. injury, disorientation, fear, anxiety, restlessness, polyphagia and polydipsia/polyuria. There is also a potentially high burden upon the owners of dogs with epilepsy that may negatively affect their QoL, including unpredictable and uncontrollable seizure activity, medicating their pets several times a day and emergency vet visits. Key for reducing stress and improving QoL for the owner and the dog is to consider the influence of the environment, diet, comorbidities, antiepileptic treatment and to establish a care and support network. Some reports have indicated the importance of diets, such as a ketogenic diet, hypoallergenic diet and fatty acid supplementation as epilepsy management. Pet owner education is another key to successful management of the patient with epilepsy. The importance of education and a care team should not be underestimated and will be discussed with the audience.

Learner Outcomes: 1. To understand the importance of comorbidities in the management of epilepsy 2. To appreciate the importance of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment option for the successful management of epilepsy 3. To learn how to maximise the integration of the pet owner in the chain of care