TORONTO — About 40% of epilepsy patients are bothered by side effects of their antiepileptic drugs, based on data from a survey of adults with epilepsy.
Information on the tolerability of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and the reasons for discontinuing treatment are limited, George J. Wan, Ph.D., said in a poster.
To examine drug tolerability and treatment satisfaction, Dr. Wan and his colleagues reviewed data from the National Survey of Epilepsy, Comorbidities, and Health Outcomes (EPIC), a large U.S. survey conducted in 2009 that included 7,500 epilepsy patients and 2,500 controls.
A total of 2,395 respondents reported being formally diagnosed with epilepsy or a seizure disorder; of those, 1,415 (59%) were taking antiepilepsy drugs at the time of the survey. About 60% of the respondents reported taking one AED, 35% reported taking two or three, and 5% reported taking four or more.
A total of 772 respondents said that they were “not at all” bothered by side effects from AEDs. But 519 respondents reported some degree of bother: 22% were mildly bothered; 12%, moderately bothered; 5%, markedly bothered; and 1%, extremely bothered. The researchers did not identify specific side effects.
Overall, 72% of the respondents said they were either “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their current AED regimens. But 304 respondents said that they had discontinued their medications. Of those, 50% discontinued on their doctor's advice; 45% because of side effects; 30% because of improvement in seizures; and 21% because of inadequate seizure control. Some respondents indicated more than one reason for discontinuing their AEDs.
Patients taking two or more AEDs were significantly more likely to be bothered by side effects, compared with those taking one, the researchers reported.
Disclosures: Dr. Wan is an employee of Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, which supported the study.