title: Anticonvulsant medication in a mental handicap hospital: 1972-1982.
abstract: The prescription sheets for all patients in a mental handicap hospital on one day in 1972 and on the same date in 1982 were examined to identify trends in anticonvulsant medication over a 10-year period. There was a reduction in size of the hospital population associated with fewer very young and milder handicapped persons. Prescription of anticonvulsants fell slightly during the decade under study with a dramatic fall in the use of phenobarbitone, and a parallel increase in the prescription of carbamazepine. Other changes included the use of sodium valproate in a significant minority of patients and the occasional use of clonazepam in 1982, while phenytoin remained a first-rank anticonvulsant throughout the period under review. The proportions of patients on polytherapy did not change over the 10-year period, though the contribution of phenobarbitone to the combined drug regimes was significantly reduced.
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010672:Phenytoin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D002220:Carbamazepine; D014635:Valproic Acid; D010672:Phenytoin; D010634:Phenobarbital