Patients with epilepsy are surveyed regarding their satisfaction, side effects, reasons for discontinuation, and compliance with AEDs.
TORONTO—Nearly three-quarters of patients with epilepsy are satisfied with their current antiepileptic drug (AED), according to research presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting of American Academy of Neurology. However, side effects remain a major concern for many patients.
In a sample of 1,415 people with epilepsy currently taking AEDs, 72% of subjects reported being somewhat or very satisfied with their current treatment. Forty percent of subjects reported experiencing some degree of side effects during the previous four weeks.
The results are from the 2009 National Survey of Epilepsy, Comorbidities, and Health Outcomes (EPIC) survey, which was mailed to 7,500 people who reported having epilepsy and 2,500 controls. Two-thirds of the self-reported epilepsy group returned the survey, with slightly less than half of those reporting ever being told that they had a seizure disorder or epilepsy. The study data included only those who were taking an AED.
George J. Wan, PhD, MPH, of Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, Raritan, New Jersey, and colleagues reported that 60% of subjects were currently taking one AED, 34.8% were taking two or three AEDs, and 5% were taking four or more. The medications had been taken for an average of 115 months.
“Information is limited on tolerability and reasons for AED discontinuation in individuals with self-reported epilepsy in the community,” Dr. Wan and colleagues wrote. “Our objective was to characterize tolerability, satisfaction, and reasons for discontinuation of AED treatment in persons with epilepsy.”
Slightly more than a quarter of respondents (26.8%) said that they stopped taking their medication. Half of those discontinued medication based on the advice of their doctor, while 45.4% cited side effects as the main reason for stopping. One in five ceased medication due to inadequate seizure control, and 30% stopped due to seizure improvement or disappearance. Subjects who were taking two or more medications for epilepsy were more likely to complain of side effects than those who were taking only one AED.
“Side effects remain a main concern for patients receiving AEDs,” Dr. Wan concluded. “Continued development of effective and more tolerable treatment is needed.”
—Rebecca K. Abma