Context: Medication nonadherence is a significant barrier in achieving seizure freedom in patients with epilepsy. There is a deficiency of data about the reasons for nonadherence in Saudi population.
Aims: The aim of this study is to prove the existence of nonadherence to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients with epilepsy and identify the responsible factors.
Setting and design: This is a prospective, cross-sectional study carried in the Department of Neurology at King Fahd Hospital of the University affiliated with Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University.
Subjects and methods: Patients of all ages diagnosed to have epilepsy as mentioned in their medical record and taking antiepileptic medications were interviewed using a questionnaire.
Statistical analysis used: Statistical analysis was performed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Statistical significance was defined as two-tailed with a P ≤ 0.05.
Results: Among 152 participants, 52.6% were male and 47.4% were female. Mean age of the patients was 28 ± 14.3 (mean ± standard deviation) years. Of 152 patients, 48.7% were found to be nonadherent to their AED therapy. The most commonly identified factor was forgetfulness. Nonadherence was significantly associated with poor seizure control (P = 0.002).
Conclusion: Nonadherence to the AED is common among patients with epilepsy and affects seizure control adversely.
Keywords: Antiepileptic drugs; epilepsy; nonadherence.