Introduction: Home videos are a useful adjunct to the clinical history and neurophysiological tests for diagnosing and monitoring seizures (1). In 2020, Evelina paediatric neurosciences through a research grant, funded the upload of carer recorded videos using vCreate Neuro, a UK NHS Trusted cloud-based portal. Some of these videos began to be referred to the clinical neurophysiologists for an expert opinion. A new service was piloted; with review of videos alongside the clinical history and previous investigations in a pre-existing bi-monthly multidisciplinary team (MDT) EEG meeting. A feasibility study is presented.
Methods: Retrospective data from Jan 2021 to August 2022 was analysed including video quality, quantity, duration and clinical outcomes. Videos were classified and a feedback survey from the referring doctors was conducted.
Key Results: 36 children who were referred had 123 carer recorded videos with a mean of 3.4 videos/patient. Video duration ranged from 0.16-11.37m with a mean of 2.1m. On average there were 19 days between video upload and the final report. 78% of children had convincing non-epileptic and 19% had convincingly epileptic events on review. 23 patients avoided telemetry; 8 of these avoided a repeat telemetry. 9 of 10 referring doctors said the MDT discussion improved their understanding of the events.
Conclusion: Clinical review of carer recorded videos can be incorporated into a clinical neurophysiology service within an MDT model. It leads to early diagnosis, prevents misdiagnosis and reduces the number of neurophysiological tests; reducing waiting times. This has health economic benefits, reduces carbon emissions and saves doctor and patient time. A report from the Scottish Health Technologies Group on the same platform showed “parents and carers were predominantly positive about the ease of use of vCreate Neuro, how ‘connected’ it made them feel to the clinical team” (2).