Abstracts

The goal of antiepileptic therapy is no seizures and no side effects. Monotherapy is the standard to try to achieve this. Many of the newer antiepileptic medications appear better tolerated with fewer side effects but are costly. People with refractory epilepsy have experienced improved seizure control and quality of life when converted from polypharmacy without worsening of their seizures. We utilized a dataset of all 2001 [amp] 2002 inpatient and ED discharges from non-federal hospitals in SC. This database is housed at SC Office of Research and Statistics (ORS). A sample of 345.x (epilepsy), 780.3 (convulsions), 780.2 (syncope and collapse), and 293.0 (acute delirium) diagnoses was selected. If an individual had multiple visits, the highest-level diagnosis chronologically listed first was chosen. Charts were abstracted by SC Department of Health [amp] Environmental Control. Data was de-identified at ORS and sent to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). At MUSC epilepsy specialists reviewed the data for appropriateness of diagnostic coding according to International Classification of Epileptic Seizures from the International League Against Epilepsy. In the present sample of 3487 individuals, 2528 (72.5%) were determined to have epilepsy after chart review. 1896 (75%) had information on current antiepileptic medications. Of these, 71% were on monotherapy, 23% were on two antiepileptic medications, and 6% were on three or more. Individuals being seen at the hospital or ED for an epilepsy-related complaint were significantly more likely (p[lt].02) to be taking more than one antiepileptic medication (31%) than those individuals being seen for other conditions (26%). Additional information will be analyzed on types of antiepileptic medications used. In light of the information presented, a question for further study is whether more individuals with epilepsy might be able to achieve no seizures and no side effects on monotherapy. (Supported by Cooperative agreement with CDC, # U36/CCU319276.)