The Pediatric Neurology Department staff at Sidra Medicine.
DOHA: Sidra Medicine has launched new pediatric neurology sub-specialty services, installed state-of-the-art technologies and embarked on a clinical research study to understand and advance the care and treatment of children with epilepsy.
The Division of Pediatric Neurology at Sidra Medicine has set up a Neurodiagnostic laboratory that offers outpatient electroencephalography (EEG) and ambulatory home EEG services to measure brain activity and evaluate children with suspected or confirmed epilepsy. A dedicated inpatient pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) has also been installed. The EMU, a one-of-a-kind in the region and a first for Qatar, offers 24/7 simultaneous video EEG monitoring and has already helped in accurately diagnosing dozens of children.
The Neurology Division has also launched new sub-specialty pediatric clinics including the Tuberous Sclerosis clinic, Headache clinic, Complex Epilepsy clinic, Ketogenic Diet clinic and Spasticity clinic. The clinics explore all possible treatment options, beginning with conservative, non-invasive methods before considering neurosurgical procedures.
Dr Khaled Zamel, Division Chief of Pediatric Neurology said, “The world-class neurology staff and state-of-the-art technology assembled at Sidra Medicine has allowed us to care for patients in a more integrated manner.
We have had many children whose lives have been transformed because of our application of patient and family focused neurology care initiatives. For example, thanks to the ambulatory EEG service, several of our young patients can be monitored at home while being assured the same level of treatment and care without the need to be in the hospital.”
There have been a number of patient success cases at Sidra Medicine since the launch of the EMU and EEG services including Mohammed a 11-year-old boy who used to display recurrent episodes of unexplained abnormal behavior that affected his social functions including his performance at school. He was admitted to the Sidra Medicine EMU where his episodes where monitored and recorded. This observation helped identify that Mohammed was in fact suffering from epileptic seizures. He was immediately prescribed anti-epileptic medications and has made a full recovery of his symptoms.
Abdulrahman, a 9-year-old boy, had a history of frequent unexplained episodes especially when he was sleeping. Electrodes were placed on his head and an ambulatory EEG device was attached which allowed his brain activity to be recorded for three consecutive days while he was at home. This evaluation confirmed that the episodes he was having were indeed seizures. He was prescribed a new medication which has helped control his condition.
In addition to the clinical services, the Division of Pediatric Neurology is currently undertaking research that will further understanding of the landscape of childhood epilepsy in Qatar and enable a personalized approach to treatment of the chronic illness.
