Cognitive behaviour therapy for epilepsy: improving seizure control and quality of life

ISRCTN ISRCTN31786019
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN31786019
Secondary identifying numbers 1.0
Submission date
26/11/2008
Registration date
10/12/2008
Last edited
07/08/2020
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Nervous System Diseases
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Not provided at time of registration

Contact information

Prof Laura H Goldstein
Scientific

Department of Psychology
Institute of Psychiatry
King's College London
PO77
De Crespigny Park
London
SE5 8AF
United Kingdom

Study information

Study designRandomised controlled trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Hospital
Study typeTreatment
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Scientific titleCognitive behaviour therapy for epilepsy: improving seizure control and quality of life - a pilot randomised controlled trial
Study objectivesThis is a pilot/feasibility study investigating the use of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) plus standard medical care vs standard medical care alone in improving seizure control and quality of life in adults with refractory epilepsy. Specifically this feasibility study will enable us to:
1. Evaluate the applicability of our CBT techniques to a broader sample of patients than in our previous work
2. Determine the acceptability of this randomisation and treatment approach in a sample of patients attending specialist epilepsy clinics, thereby informing recruitment rates when designing a later, larger randomised controlled trial (RCT)
3. Obtain information on treatment effect sizes to undertake power calculations for a larger RCT
Ethics approval(s)Joint South London and Maudsley and the Institute of Psychiatry NHS Research Ethics Committee, 04/07/2008, ref: LREC 08/H0807/44
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedEpilepsy
InterventionFollowing baseline recording of seizure frequency participants will be randomly assigned to one of two arms:

CBT (plus standard medical care):
CBT will comprise 12 weekly/fortnightly individual therapy sessions with the CBT therapist, over 4 months. Treatment will follow our prepared treatment manual, with homework tasks and seizure recordings reviewed at each session. In addition to seizure-specific interventions (e.g. development of countermeasures), more general cognitive behavioural therapeutic techniques will be employed to address the management of times of increased vulnerability to seizures and to improve patientsÂ’ overall physical and emotional well-being, with a view to relapse prevention. Handouts will be given to participants.

Standard medical care:
Participants will be seen by their epilepsy specialist in their regular clinic, depending on clinical need. As with the CBT group, we will monitor the number of appointments that participants have with their epilepsy specialist over the 4-month period and whether any medication changes are implemented during that time.
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureMonthly seizure frequency, monitored throughout the study. Total duration of follow-up: 12 weeks.
Secondary outcome measures1. Liverpool Seizure Severity Scale at baseline, 8 and 12 weeks
2. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale at baseline, 8 and 12 weeks
3. Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-31 (QOLIE-31) at baseline, 8 and 12 weeks
4. Health service usage for previous 8 weeks, assessed using the Client Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI) at baseline, beginning of treatment, 8-week follow-up and for previous 4 weeks at 12 week follow up
5. Health status, assessed by Euroqol EQ-5D at baseline, 8 and 12 weeks
Overall study start date01/12/2008
Completion date31/03/2010

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
Lower age limit18 Years
Upper age limit65 Years
SexBoth
Target number of participants40
Total final enrolment26
Key inclusion criteria1. Both males and females, age 18-65 years
2. Clinical diagnosis (with supporting electroencephalography [EEG]) of epilepsy
3. A maximum of 40 seizures/month involving alteration/loss of consciousness (i.e. complex partial or generalised seizures) with no limit to simple partial seizure frequency
4. Stable medication for the month prior to recruitment
5. Able to attend weekly/fortnightly sessions
6. Willing to complete questionnaires regularly to monitor progress
Key exclusion criteria1. History of, or current actual/suspected non-epileptic seizures
2. <2 seizures per month in each of the preceding four months
3. Active major psychiatric disorder
4. Drug/alcohol dependence
5. Receiving active vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for seizures that has been adjusted within the previous 12 months
6. Insufficiently fluent in English to be able to undertake treatment and complete questionnaires without the assistance of an interpreter
7. Established learning disability (or where this has been measured formally, IQ <70)
Date of first enrolment01/12/2008
Date of final enrolment31/03/2010

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • England
  • United Kingdom

Study participating centre

Department of Psychology
London
SE5 8AF
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London (UK)
University/education

c/o Mrs G Lambert
Research Governance/Clinical Trials Facilitator IoP/SLaM
R&D Office
PO05
De Crespigny Park
London
SE5 8AF
England
United Kingdom

Website http://www.kcl.ac.uk
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/0220mzb33

Funders

Funder type

Charity

Epilepsy Research UK (UK) (ref: P0805)
Private sector organisation / Other non-profit organizations
Alternative name(s)
ERUK
Location
United Kingdom

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryNot provided at time of registration
Publication and dissemination planNot provided at time of registration
IPD sharing plan

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Basic results 07/07/2017 07/08/2020 No No

Additional files

ISRCTN31786019_BasicResults_07Jul2017.pdf
uploaded 07/08/2020

Editorial Notes

07/08/2020: The basic results of this trial have been uploaded as an additional file.
11/05/2016: No publications found, verifying study status with principal investigator.