title: Reduction of polypharmacy in epileptic patients.
abstract: An attempt was made to reduce polypharmacy in 90 epileptic patients. All patients received their original drug regimen for at least six months and were followed up for a minimum of 16 months after reduction of polypharmacy. In 72 patients (80%), the average number of drugs administered was reduced from 2.75 to 1.49. In 39 of these (54%), a reduction was made to single drug therapy. Either no change or an improvement in seizure control was observed, and side effects decreased in many patients. In 18 patients (20%), medications could not be withdrawn. In nine of these, another drug was required for seizure control. In the remaining nine, more frequent seizures necessitated a return to the previous regimen. The critical variable predicting unsuccessful reduction of polypharmacy was the presence of multiple concurrent seizure types.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants