The value of anti-epileptic therapy as a prophylactic factor for seizures in the management of moderate traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Aim: The value of anti-epileptic therapy in the prophylaxis of post-traumatic seizures. Patients & methods: All patients received a standard anti-epileptic drug (AED) and were divided into two groups: Group A -with early AED and Group B -with late AED. Results: Patients (871/1062) met the inclusion criteria. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that computer tomography findings, headache and prior history of brain head injury were independent risk factors of seizures. Only late post-traumatic seizures (LPTS) was significantly associated with AED (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Early treatment with AED seems to not affect the incidence of lPTS. In addition, an AED with a mean time of initiation of 7.5 days from the moderate traumatic brain injury occurrence could reduce the lPTS incidence.

Keywords

• anti-epileptic drugs
• brain trauma
• early seizures
• electroencephalogram
• late seizures
• levetiracetam