Background: Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain characterized by recurrent seizure activity. The aim of the present study was to analyze the pattern of antiseizure drug prescriptions in pediatric patients with epilepsy. Methodology: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted on 196 patients with epilepsy. The primary objective was to describe the prescription pattern of antiseizure drugs in pediatric patients suffering from epilepsy using World Health Organization prescribing indicators. Data on the prescribed antiseizure drugs, such as name (generic or branded), frequency, monotherapy, and polytherapy, were also recorded. Results: Among the 196 participants, the largest proportion (77; 39.29%) belonged to the 10-12 year age group. Male patients (137; 69.9%) predominated over female patients (59; 30.1%). Generalized tonic-clonic seizures (81; 41.33%) were the most common type of epilepsy, followed by epileptic spasms (57; 29%). Polytherapy was observed in 128 (65.30%) patients, while dual therapy and monotherapy were seen in 54 (27.55%) and 14 (7.14%) of patients, respectively. Valproate was the most prescribed antiseizure drug (122; 62.76%), followed by phenytoin (38; 19.3%) and levetiracetam (16; 8.16%). The average number of drugs per prescription was three. Generic prescribing accounted for 123 (63%) of prescriptions and 162(82.66%) of drugs were prescribed from the essential drug list. No injectable drugs were prescribed. Conclusion: Valproate was the most prescribed antiseizure medication in pediatric epilepsy patients. Polytherapy was frequently observed. Most drugs were prescribed in generic form and from the essential medicines list.
Chamaria et al. (Wed,) studied this question.