Is the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory-Epilepsy for Youth (NDDI-E-Y) more sensitive than a neurologist? A quality improvement project

Purpose: Depression is one of the most prevalent psychiatric comorbidities in epilepsy. This quality improvement project compared a standardized rating scale, the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory-Epilepsy for Youth (NDDI-E-Y), with physician opinion to see if it improved sensitivity to depressive symptoms. Results: A convenience sample of thirty adolescents with epilepsy ages 12-17 (mean [M] = 15.02, standard deviation [SD] = 1.81; 53% female) participated in the screening. Thirteen percent of the sample scored in the Elevated range on the NDDI-E-Y (exceeded cutoff). Seven percent of the sample were rated by the physician as definitely showing signs of depression. There were two false negatives when the NDDI-E-Y score exceeded the established cutoff, but physician rating was negative for depressive symptoms. Conclusion: This pilot project shows that the NDDI-E-Y is a convenient clinical tool with the potential to improve sensitivity in the detection of depressive symptoms in adolescents with epilepsy. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.