RT Journal Article
T1 Observational multicentre study into the use of antiepileptic drugs in Spanish neurology consultations.
T2 Estudio observacional multicéntrico español sobre el empleo de fármacos antiepilépticos en consultas de neurología.
A1 Mercadé Cerdá, J M
A1 López Gonzalez, F J
A1 Serrano Castro, P
A1 Castro Vilanova, M D
A1 Campos Blanco, D M
A1 Querol Pascual, M R
A1 en representación del Grupo de Estudio de Epilepsia de la SEN, 
K1 Antiepileptic drugs
K1 Características clínicas
K1 Clinical characteristics
K1 Descriptive study
K1 Epidemiology
K1 Epidemiología
K1 Epilepsia
K1 Epilepsy
K1 Estudio descriptivo
K1 Fármacos antiepilépticos
AB The study aims to quantify the types of antiepileptic drugs (AED) prescribed in neurology consultations. This descriptive, observational study included a sample of 559 patients older than 14 years, diagnosed with epilepsy, and receiving pharmacological treatment. Data were collected at outpatient consultations by 47 Spanish neurologists in May 2016. Epilepsy was defined based on the International League Against Epilepsy classification. According to the year of marketing, AEDs were categorised as classic (before 1990) or new (after 1990). We performed a descriptive analysis of qualitative and quantitative variables. Female patients accounted for 54.6% of the sample. Mean age was 42.7 years; mean age of onset was 22.4. Regarding epilepsy type, 75.7% of patients experienced partial seizures, 51.5% were symptomatic,32.4% had refractory epilepsy, 35.6% had been seizure-free for the previous year, and 59.2% had associated comorbidities.A total of 1103 AED prescriptions were made; 64.6% of prescriptions were for new AEDs; 85.4% of patients received new AEDs. Patients received a mean of 2 AEDs (range, 1-5). A total of 59.6% of patients received polytherapy.The most frequently prescribed AEDs were levetiracetam (42.6%), valproic acid (25.4%), lamotrigine (19.5%), carbamazepine (17.9%), and lacosamide (17.5%). No AED was employed exclusively as monotherapy. The most frequently prescribed AEDs for generalised and partial seizures were valproic acid (48.2%) and levetiracetam (43.2%), respectively. Valproic acid was less frequently prescribed to female patients. Patients with refractory epilepsy or with associated comorbidities were more frequently prescribed a combination of new and classic AEDs (48.7% and 45.6%, respectively) than only one type of AED. The majority of patients received new AEDs. The combination of classic and new AEDs was more frequently prescribed to patients with refractory epilepsy or with associated comorbidities.
YR 2018
FD 2018-03-09
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10668/24895
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10668/24895
LA en
LA es
DS RISalud
RD Apr 6, 2025