Direct and indirect costs of epilepsy in a tertiary epilepsy centre in Germany

Purpose: There are only few studies on the costs of epilepsy in Germany. Therefore, we performed a pilot study to estimate the direct and indirect costs of epilepsy in a German epilepsy center. Methods: A ‘prevalence-based’, cross-sectional convenience cohort of adults attending the outpatient clinic of our tertiary epilepsy center was evaluated. Seizure-free patients and patients presenting with their first seizure were excluded. Direct and indirect costs were prospectively recorded over a three months period using questionnaires and a patient diary. Cost driving factors were identified. Results: 101 patients w…