Is it Safe to Discontinue Antiepileptic Drugs?

Abstract

Objectives:This study aims to investigate the remission and relapse in patients with epilepsy after the withdrawal of AEDs due to seizure-free, and to review the criteria for withdrawal of AEDs.Methods:The records of 105 patients who were followed up regularly in our epilepsy outpatient clinic and were planned to be discontinued due to seizurefree were analyzed retrospectively in this study. Seventeen patients were excluded from this study because they did not meet the criteria. The sociodemographic and clinical features of the patients, the duration of the seizure, and the EEG findings before and after the drug discontinuation were recorded.Results:In this study, 46 (52.3%) patients were female and 42 (47.7%) were male. Mean age was 28.8±12.3 (10–63). Seventy-one patients (80.7%) were in complete remission at least one year after drug treatment. Seventeen patients (19.3%) had seizure recurrence. Four (23.5%) patients had recurrent seizures in the first 12 months, with 14 (82.4%) patients in the first three months. It was observed that the age of onset of epilepsy and the age of onset of AED were higher in patients with seizure recurrence, and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.036, p=0.005). EEG examinations performed after discontinuation of the drug showed that the rate of recurrence of patients with pathological findings increased (p<0.001).Conclusion:Although epilepsy is a chronic disease, it is noted that some patients have survived the period of seizure in clinical follow-up and can continue their life without medication and seizure. It is important to recognize these patients and to stop treatment in appropriate patients for the quality of life of them. The possibility of relapse is highest during the first year after discontinuation of AED treatment. Close follow-up of the patients in the first year is important.

Keywords

• antiepileptic drug
• drug discontinuation
• recurrence