Effects of an inpatient rehabilitation program after temporal lobe epilepsy surgery and other factors on employment 2 years after epilepsy surgery

Summary Objective To evaluate the effects of a postsurgical rehabilitation program on employment status 2 years after temporal lobe epilepsy surgery in relation to other predictors. Methods Employment outcome 2 years after temporal lobe resection in a group of 232 adult patients with the offer of a 3‐week inpatient rehabilitation program immediately after surgery (“Reha group”) was compared to a group of 119 patients who had surgery before such a rehabilitation program existed. One hundred thirty‐nine (59.9%) of the Reha group patients attended the rehabilitation program. Further predictors for employment outcome were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Preoperatively, the groups did not differ significantly in variables relevant for employment, including employment rate. Two years after surgery, the rate of those not being employed had decreased in the Reha group from 38.4% to 27.6% (p