EFFICACY AND TOLERABILITY OF ESLICARBAZEPINE ACETATE AS MONOTHERAPY IN PATIENTS OF NEWLY DIAGNOSED FOCAL EPILEPSY

Abstract

This study was conducted at Department of Psychiatry, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad. The aim of our study was to determine the efficacy and safety of Eslicarbazepine Acetate, observe its well-tolerated use and monitor adverse effects in newly diagnosed patients of focal epilepsy. A total of 30 newly diagnosed cases of focal epilepsy between 18-60 years, were studied for 6 months, using a semi-structured interview and Liverpool Adverse Events Profile. Majority of patients were males (58%), between 21-30 years. Patients with partial/focal seizures (63%) were more common than those of generalized seizures (37%).Majority of the participants had 1-2 episodes of focal seizures weekly (48%), while some had almost daily (32%). Majority were on Eslicarbazepine Acetate 800mg in two divided doses daily (64%), while the others received 1200 mg in divided doses (32%). The mean Liverpool Adverse Events Profile score initially was 28.34 ± 6.28 which significantly improved after 4 weeks treatment to 22.80 ± 4.35 (p < 0.05). The improvement in newly diagnosed focal seizures patients was significantly more than other patients (p < 0.05).No major side effects were observed.Therefore, better results of this drug are found in newly diagnosed focal epilepsy patients.