title: The impact of prophylactic treatment on post-traumatic epilepsy after severe traumatic brain injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the incidence of late post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) in patients with very severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) who either received or did not receive anti-epileptic prophylactic treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two populations were studied: 55 patients retrospectively and 82 subjects prospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten patients (18%) in the first population showed late PTE. Although the incidence was lower in patients who did not receive prophylactic treatment, the difference between the treated and the non-treated group was not statistically significant. Sixty-nine patients in the second group (84%) had prophylactic treatment. Twenty-seven patients (39%) suffered from late PTE during the 2-year follow-up period and 17 of them (63%) showed EEG epileptic abnormalities. No patient who did not receive preventive therapy suffered from late PTE during the observation period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Due to the negative cognitive effects of anti-epileptic drugs, the preliminary results are of considerable interest for the rehabilitation of patients with very severe TBI.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Hospital, I.R.C.C.S Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy. r.formisano@hsantalucia.it
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Formisano
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barba
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Buzzi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Newcomb-Fernandez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Menniti-Ippolito
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zafonte
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vinicola
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Spanedda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants