PRESCRIPTION PATTERN OF ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS IN CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Authors

  • PUNEET KAUR Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India.
  • ANJLEEN KAUR Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India.
  • JASBIR SINGH Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India.
  • HARJINDER SINGH Department of Paediatrics, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2023.v16i5.47126

Keywords:

epilepsy, antiepileptic drugs, prescription pattern, children

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the pattern of prescription of antiepileptic drugs (AED) in children with epilepsy attending a tertiary care hospital in North India.

Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted for a duration of 1 year. Data on demographic variables including age, gender, type of epilepsy, and prescription of all AEDs and their different combinations were collected from the patients of epilepsy coming to the Department of Pediatrics, Rajindra Hospital attached to Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India and analyzed using WHO core prescription indicators.

Results: Out of 100 prescriptions analyzed, 55% of patients were males and 45% were females. The mean age of patients was 8.65 years (±3.80). Generalized epilepsy (78%) was the most commonly diagnosed epilepsy. 92% of patients were prescribed monotherapy, while polytherapy was used in 8% of patients. Valproate was the most common drug used in monotherapy (44.56%), followed by phenytoin (21.74%) and phenobarbitone (15.22%). In polytherapy, the most common combination used was valproate with clobazam (62.5%). 96.6% of prescriptions were based on the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022.

Conclusion: Monotherapy was the preferred modality of treatment in our hospital. Conventional drugs were favored in monotherapy, while benzodiazepines and newer drugs were more commonly used as an add-on drugs in polytherapy. Valproate was the most commonly used AED in monotherapy as well as polytherapy.

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References

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Published

07-05-2023

How to Cite

KAUR, P., A. KAUR, J. SINGH, and H. SINGH. “PRESCRIPTION PATTERN OF ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS IN CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY”. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, vol. 16, no. 5, May 2023, pp. 99-103, doi:10.22159/ajpcr.2023.v16i5.47126.

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