Non‐discontinuation of antiseizure medication in seizure‐free epilepsy patients

Abstract

AbstractBackground and purposeIn patients with epilepsy and sustained seizure freedom, guidelines recommend considering discontinuation of antiseizure medication (ASM) based on shared decision‐making. This study aims to identify factors associated with non‐discontinuation of ASM in seizure‐free patients.MethodsRetrospective data from three sites of an academic outpatient clinic were analyzed. Adult patients with epilepsy who have been seizure‐free for ≥24 months on ASM monotherapy were included. The primary end‐point was non‐discontinuation of ASM, defined as no discontinuation or no dose reduction of ≥25% at the last outpatient clinic visit in the ultimate seizure‐free interval. Secondary end‐points included frequency of discussion on discontinuation attempts between patients and physicians, adherence to ASM discontinuation decisions, and post‐discontinuation seizure outcomes.ResultsOut of 338 included patients, 81.7% did not discontinue ASM and did not reduce its dose, 11.5% discontinued ASM and 6.8% had a significant dose reduction. Factors independently associated with non‐discontinuation of ASM were history of focal to bilateral or generalized tonic–clonic seizures (odds ratio [OR] 2.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08–5.06), history of breakthrough seizures (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.10–10.04), history of failed attempts to discontinue or reduce the ASM dose (OR 4.67, 95% CI 1.03–21.11) and higher ASM load at the index visit (OR 6.10, 95% CI 2.09–17.78). Discontinuation attempts were made during the entire period of seizure freedom and were most commonly undertaken ≥10 years after the last seizure.ConclusionsThis study provides insights into factors associated with the shared decision‐making process regarding ASM discontinuation in seizure‐free patients and highlights the importance of considering individual patient characteristics and seizure history.