title: Drug utilisation study in patients receiving antiepileptic drugs in Colombia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study examines the indications according to which antiepileptic drugs are prescribed and used in a population of patients enrolled in the Colombian national health system (SGSSS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cross-sectional study. From the pool of individuals in 34 Colombian cities who used antiepileptic drugs between 18 July, 2013 and 31 August, 2014 during a period of no less than 12 months, we obtained a random sample stratified by city. Socio-demographic, pharmacological and comorbidity variables were analysed. Continuous and categorical variables were compared, and logistic regression models were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our patient total was 373 patients, with 197 women (52.1%) and a mean age of 41.9 ± 21.7 years; 65.4% of the patients were treated with monotherapy. The most frequently used drugs were valproic acid (53.1%) and carbamazepine (33.2%). Epilepsy was the most frequent indication (n=178; 47.7%); however, 52.3% of the patients were prescribed antiepileptics for different indications, especially neuropathic pain (26.8%), affective disorders (14.2%) and migraine prophylaxis (12.3%). A total of 81 patients with epilepsy (46.6%) displayed good seizure control while another 25 (14.4%) had drug-resistant epilepsy. In the multivariate analysis, medication adherence was associated with a lower risk of treatment failure in patients with epilepsy (OR: 0.27; 95%CI, 0.11-0.67).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In Colombia, antiepileptic drugs are being used for indications other than those originally intended. Monotherapy is the most commonly used treatment approach, together with the use of classic antiepileptic drugs.
authors: Grupo de Investigación en Fármacoepidemiología y Fármacovigilancia, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia - Audifarma S.A., Pereira, Colombia. Electronic address: machado@utp.edu.co.
authors: J E
authors: JE
authors: Machado-Alba
authors: Grupo de Investigación en Fármacoepidemiología y Fármacovigilancia, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia - Audifarma S.A., Pereira, Colombia.
authors: L F
authors: LF
authors: Calvo-Torres
authors: Grupo de Investigación en Fármacoepidemiología y Fármacovigilancia, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia - Audifarma S.A., Pereira, Colombia.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: García-Betancur
authors: Grupo de Investigación en Fármacoepidemiología y Fármacovigilancia, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia - Audifarma S.A., Pereira, Colombia.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Aguirre-Novoa
authors: Grupo de Investigación en Fármacoepidemiología y Fármacovigilancia, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia - Audifarma S.A., Pereira, Colombia.
authors: A M
authors: AM
authors: Bañol-Giraldo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004363:Drug Utilization; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants
keywords: Antiepileptics; Antiepilépticos; Colombia; Drug prescription; Drug utilisation; Farmacoepidemiología; Pharmacoepidemiology; Prescripciones de medicamentos; Therapeutic uses; Usos terapéuticos; Utilización de medicamentos