Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus 2019 pandemic represented a great challenge for the health system. The demand for hospital beds and resources for the treatment of the coronavirus has forced the health service to reorganize and the National Government to implement strict measures to reduce the rate of infections. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine whether the care and access to medication of patients with epilepsy was affected during mandatory quarantine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in two medical health centers, one public and one private, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A survey was designed in the Google Forms platform and sent by email between April and June 2020 to patients with epilepsy treated in both institutions. Questions on demographic characteristics, access to the health care system and changes in the frequency of seizures were included. RESULTS: 488 patients were contacted, obtaining a response of 50.8%. Regarding the health care coverage, 36.5% of the patients did not have any. 49.1% had problems accessing to the medications. 29.7% of the patients contacted referred an increase in the frequency of seizures. The main contact method used was email (35%) and telephone (15.4%). 58% obtained their prescriptions by alternative methods while 13% reported not having access to them. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reflect the importance of incorporating alternative means of communication in special situations to guarantee the care and treatment of patients with chronic diseases.