Abstract
Background
Previous studies suggest a highly variable response of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). This may be because the response to AEDs has been changed to sustained period of freedom from seizures. This study was conducted to determine whether therapeutic changes of AEDs in the treatment of seizure would be observable in an Indonesian population.
Methods
The study was conducted at the outpatient neurology polyclinic at the Universitas Airlangga Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia. This was an observational retrospective cohort study, examining the outcomes of 41 cases of switching AEDs (increase or decrease of the dose, switch to branded or generic, or added or reduced type of AEDs).
Results
After treatment with the switched AED, seizure did not show any significant improvement. However, the incidence of seizure during and after the therapeutic change showed a downward trend (from 44% to 32%).
Conclusions
According to the present study, mere optimization of antiepileptic therapy may not result in a steep decrease in seizure events, particularly in polytherapy with AEDs. On the other hand, monotherapy with AEDs evidences to decreasing tendency of seizures.
Acknowledgment
The author thanks to Universitas Airlangga Hospital Surabaya and Faculty of Pharmacy Universitas Airlangga that support this study.
Research funding: This research was supported with financial assistance of the Tahir Professorship.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
Ethical approval: Research involving human subjects complied with all relevant national regulations, institutional policies and is in accordance with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration (as revised in 2013), and has been approved by the authors’ institutional review board Universitas Airlangga Hospital.
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