Abstracts

Frequency of Epileptic Seizures Before and During Pregnancy in Patients with Epilepsy and Its Related Factors

Abstract number : 2.424
Submission category : 4. Clinical Epilepsy / 4E. Women's Issues
Year : 2023
Submission ID : 1403
Source : www.aesnet.org
Presentation date : 12/3/2023 12:00:00 AM
Published date :

Authors :
Presenting Author: Diego Chetla Morales, MD – Hospital General de Mexico Dr. Eduargo Liceaga

Martha Garcia Toribio, MD – Neurologist, neurophysiology and epileptologist, Neurology, Hospital General de Mexico Dr. Eduardo Liceaga; Paul Carrillo Mora, PhD, MD – Headship, División de Neurociencias clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacion Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra; Schajrit Amscheridam Herrera, MD – Resident, Neurology, Hospital General de Mexico Dr. Eduardo Liceaga; Kenia Franyutti Prado, MD – Resident, Neurology, Hospital General de Mexico Dr. Eduardo Liceaga

Rationale:
It is estimated that an average of two-thirds of women with epilepsy do not show changes in the frequency of seizures during pregnancy; moreover, there are multiple studies on the factors related to presence of seizures during pregnancy but most of them have been made in higher-income countries. This study aims to compare the frequency of seizures before and during pregnancy and also analyze the demographic, clinical and electroencephalographic factors related to presence of seizures during pregnancy.

Methods:
We conducted a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study. A total of 80 patient records were reviewed from 2018 to 2023. All patients with a diagnosis of epilepsy and pregnancy in any gestational age were included. Patient records with complete information were included: demographic, clinical and electroencephalogram (EEG) features were collected.

Results:
A total of 46 patients were included; the average age was 25.1 years (SD:5.8); the average onset of epilepsy was 13.6 years (SD:7.7) with evolution time 11.5 years (SD:9); 30 patients (65%) had focal seizures and 16 (35%) had generalized seizures. The etiology was unknown in 22 (48%) and structural in 19 (41%). 65% (30) had at least one EEG recording, with 53% (16) being normal and 22% (10) having epileptic alterations; 65% (30), with sharp waves (70%) being the most frequent graphoelement. A total of 71% (n=33) of patients had seizures before pregnancy and 82% (n=38) during pregnancy. A total of 54% increased the frequency of seizures during pregnancy, 22% did not change and 24% decreased. The average number of seizures before pregnancy was 6.5 (SD:13.4) and during pregnancy was 5.9 (SD:6.8). The proportion of seizures before and during pregnancy did not show a significant difference (p=0.3205). The use of two or more Antiepileptic Drugs (AD) was related to a greater number of seizures (P=0.0135). There was a significant correlation between the number of seizures before and during pregnancy (r=0.653, p< 0.0001).
Clinical Epilepsy