Smartphone applications for the management of epilepsy in children and adolescents

Laguna, Gabriela Garcia de Carvalho; Ribeiro, Diego Bastos; Coelho, Lidhane Santos; Ramos, Murilo Sousa; Evangelista, Karolaine da Costa; Libarino, David Santos; Costa, Davi Tanajura

doi:10.1590/1984-0462/2025/43/2024066

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Revista Paulista de Pediatria

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Review Article • Rev. paul. pediatr. 43 • 2025 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-0462/2025/43/2024066 copy

Smartphone applications for the management of epilepsy in children and adolescents

Aplicativos de smartphone para o gerenciamento de epilepsia em crianças e adolescentes

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To describe how smartphone applications can contribute to the management of epilepsy in children and adolescents.

Data source:

This is an integrative review conducted on the Medline, PubMed, and SciELO databases, based on the descriptors “epilepsy” and “smartphone.” Original studies published between 2017–2023 in Portuguese or English that addressed the research question were included. Theses and dissertations, duplicate studies, literature reviews, and studies that did not answer the research question were excluded.

Data synthesis:

A total of 178 studies were located, of which six were selected for this review. The sample included 731 participants (631 children and adolescents with epilepsy and 100 caregivers). The applications allow for the collection of seizure frequency; timing and type of crisis; reminders for medication administration; and information about sleep quality. They can store these data for healthcare professionals, caregivers, and users to monitor the progress of the condition.

Conclusions:

The use of applications in managing seizures in children and adolescents with epilepsy shows promising results by promoting continuous and personalized monitoring. Further studies are needed to optimize beneficial outcomes and overcome challenges.

Keywords:
Epilepsy; Self-care; Gamification; Child; Adolescent

Study	Study design and location	Sample	Tool used	Main results and conclusions
Chiu et al.⁸8. Chiu M, Peinhof S, De Guzman C, Borhani M, Siu C, Kuzeljevic B, et al. Seizure action plans in the pediatric population with epilepsy: uptake, determinants, and parental interest in a mobile application. Epilepsy Behav. 2021;117:107860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.107860 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.107...	Cross-sectional observational (Canada)	192 participants: average age 10.4 years.	This study aimed to determine the percentage of pediatric patients with epilepsy who have individualized action plans, identify predictive variables, and assess parental interest in a mobile application with SAP guidelines.	The study showed that 15% of parents use mobile apps to manage their children’s epilepsy, with the most commonly used features being seizure trackers and medication reminders, and that 83% of participants are interested in an app that presents an individualized action plan for seizures.
Choi et al.⁹9. Choi SA, Lim K, Baek H, Yoo S, Cho A, Kim H, et al. Impact of mobile health application on data collection and self-management of epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav. 2021;119:107982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.107982 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.107...	Longitudinal observational (South Korea)	99 participants: 18 patients aged 15 years or over and 81 caregivers.	Brain4U mobile application, which includes a seizure diary, medication reminders, comorbidity self-screening tools, and an individualized dashboard for epilepsy patients.	The app provided accurate information on the timing and type of seizures but had variations in user adherence and some inconsistencies in clinical data. Caregivers and patients reported that educational content and medication reminders were the most useful features.
Davies et al.¹⁰10. Davies EH, Fieggen K, Wilmshurst J, Anyanwu O, Burman RJ, Komarzynski S. Demonstrating the feasibility of digital health to support pediatric patients in South Africa. Epilepsia Open. 2021;6:653-62. https://doi.org/10.1002/epi4.12527 https://doi.org/10.1002/epi4.12527...	Observational (South Africa)	39 participants: average age 10 years (4–6 years)	Smartphone application (Aparito app) and pulse device connected via Bluetooth.	The app can capture important information such as medication adherence data and clinical events. Crisis management becomes more effective.
Dozières-Puyravel et al.¹¹11. Dozières-Puyravel B, Danse M, Goujon E, Höhn S, Auvin S. Views of adolescents and their parents on mobile apps for epilepsy self-management. Epilepsy Behav. 2020;106:107039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2020.107039 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2020.107...	Cross-sectional observational (France)	36 participants: 17 adolescents aged 10–18 years and 19 parents or caregivers.	A questionnaire for teenagers to understand their interests and the type of content they would like to see in an epilepsy self-management app.	Most parents and adolescents were interested in an epilepsy self-management app. A lack of knowledge about existing apps was observed and it is believed that the use of these tools could promote greater dissemination of knowledge about epilepsy.
LaGrant et al.¹²12. LaGrant B, Goldenholz DM, Braun M, Moss RE, Grinspan ZM. Patterns of recording epileptic spasms in an electronic seizure diary compared with video-eeg and historical cohorts. Pediatr Neurol. 2021;122:27-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2021.04.008 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol....	Observational (the United States)	314 pediatric participants with average onset of symptoms of 2.8.	Electronic seizure diary that allows the entry of demographic information and recording of seizures via mobile devices, wearable devices, or Amazon Alexa.	The study evaluated spasm patterns in epileptic children using an electronic diary available on mobile devices and observed individual differences between users of the electronic diary in terms of the frequency of reports.
Le Marne et al.¹³13. Le Marne FA, Butler S, Beavis E, Gill D, Bye AM. EpApp: development and evaluation of a smartphone/tablet app for adolescents with epilepsy. J Clin Neurosci. 2018;50:214-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2018.01.065 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2018.01.0...	Observational (Australia)	51 participants: average age 14.49 years.	The EpApp application for epilepsy management. It uses medication reminders, a seizure diary, and personalized statistics.	During the study, there was a significant improvement in general knowledge about epilepsy, but not in attitudes or self-efficacy related to the disease. Adolescents and parents considered medication reminders to be the most useful resource.

Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo R. Maria Figueiredo, 595 - 10o andar, 04002-003 São Paulo - SP - Brasil, Tel./Fax: (11 55) 3284-0308; 3289-9809; 3284-0051 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: rpp@spsp.org.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] *Corresponding author: E-mail: gabrielagcl@outlook.com (G.G.C. Laguna)