TRENDS IN ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS PRESCRIPTION PATTERN AMONG PATIENTS VISITING A TERTIARY CARE CENTER

The objectives were to observe the drug pattern of epileptic patients with their seizure type, to analyze the type of therapy received by the patients, to observe if epileptic patients are receiving an appropriate dose, to identify the side effects in epileptic patients associated with drug treatment and to observe the cost of conventional and newer antiepileptic drugs (AED’s). This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted in the Neurology department. A total of 150 patients were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Demographic details and clinically relevant details such as therapy, dose of the drug, side effects experienced pertaining to the objectives of the study were collected using the self-prepared proforma. Symptomatic localization (64%) was the most commonly observed epilepsy syndrome. The commonly observed type of therapy among the patients was dual therapy. AED dose prescribed for most of the adult population was at a sub-optimal level, as explained by the daily defined dose/ prescribed daily dose (DDD/PDD) ratio (<1). Carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine were prescribed at a suboptimal level in the paediatric population. Excessive somnolence, fatigue, weight gain were the most commonly reported side effects. The observed mean cost of newer drugs was more than conventional drugs. Despite the appropriate selection of AED, patients had increased frequency of seizures with the incidence of side effects. This problem could have been overcome by prescribing optimal doses and avoiding the use of polytherapy wherever possible.