Demographic and Clinical Findings of Patients with Refractory Epilepsy at Epilepsy Outpatient Clinic of Mugla Sitki Kocman University Faculty of Medicine

Abstract

Objectives: Demographic and clinical findings of patients with refractory epilepsy receiving treatment at the newly established epilepsy outpatient clinic of Mugla Sitki Kocman University Faculty of Medicine were evaluated. Methods: Records of patients treated at the epilepsy outpatient clinic between June 2014 and March 2016 were examined, and 60 patients with refractory epilepsy were included the study. Results: Mean age was 34.3 years. Of the total, 29 were men and 31 were women. Seizures of 50 patients were partial onset, while those of 3 were generalized. Fourteen patients had psychogenic seizures, and 1 patient was diagnosed with paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia. The electroencephalogram (EEG) recording of 20 patients was normal. Partial epileptiform abnormalities were present in 24 patients, and generalized epileptiform abnormalities were seen in 1 patient. Treatment was modified in 45 patients. Four patients were seizure-free, 13 showed more than 50% reduction in seizure frequency, and 9 patients had less than 50% fewer seizures. It is thought that 34 patients have pharmacoresistant seizures. The cause of uncontrolled seizures was misdiagnosis in 5 patients, improper drug in 3 patients, and insufficient treatment dose in 5 patients. Conclusion: Accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment with sufficient dose of drug selected according to type of seizure is important for patients with refractory epilepsy.