title: Current status of epilepsy treatment and efficacy of standard phenobarbital therapy in rural areas of Northern China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the current status of epilepsy treatment and the efficacy and adverse effects of phenobarbital therapy in rural areas of Northern China.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 2192 patients diagnosed with convulsive epilepsy were recruited from seven different rural regions in Jilin Province, China to investigate the current status of epilepsy treatment, and 1379 of them were enrolled in a standard phenobarbital therapy trial. Patients were selected according to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, and medical records for all patients were collected and analyzed before the standard treatment was started. Patients were followed up monthly, and efficacy in 1218 patients was analyzed at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months of treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More patients had the initial seizure in juveniles than in adults, and 40.72% of the 2192 patients were not receiving any treatment before the treatment trial. The efficacy of phenobarbital increased and adverse effects decreased within the treatment period. Among the 349 patients who were followed up for 12 months from the beginning of the phenobarbital treatment, seizures were decreased by more than 75% in 71.3% of patients using a low-to-medium dose of phenobarbital. Major adverse effects of phenobarbital included mild exhaustion, drowsiness, dizziness and headache.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Standardized long-term and regular administration of phenobarbital at a low-to-medium dose can be used as an effective, economic and safe treatment against epilepsy in rural areas.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Center , The First Hospital of Jilin University , Changchun , China.
authors.forename: Jinbei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Center , The First Hospital of Jilin University , Changchun , China.|b Department of Neurology , Tengzhou Central People's Hospital , Tengzhou , China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Center , The First Hospital of Jilin University , Changchun , China.
authors.forename: Zan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Center , The First Hospital of Jilin University , Changchun , China.
authors.forename: Weihong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004244:Dizziness / Q000139:chemically induced; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006261:Headache / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012424:Rural Population; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D010634:Phenobarbital
keywords: Northern China; epilepsy; phenobarbital; rural areas; treatment gap