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Factors influencing medication adherence after epilepsy surgery Volume 17, numéro 1, March 2015

TEST YOURSELF

(1) Adherence to AED therapy is critical for effective epilepsy management, however, non-adherence is high in epilepsy patients. Can patients adhere to their AED regimen after epilepsy surgery?


(2) Poor adherence to AEDs may be the most important cause of poorly controlled epilepsy. Is there any correlation between the outcome of surgery and drug adherence?


(3) Why do patients with epilepsy not follow the doctor’s advice to take AEDs after surgery?

 

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Answers

(1) According to our study, adherence to AEDs is improved after epilepsy surgery compared to presurgical estimates, but it is still a common and serious problem.

 

(2) Our study reveals that there is no significant correlation between adherence and seizure recurrence.

 

(3)The most common reasons for non-adherence in this study were: seizure-free status (26.5%), followed by forgetfulness (19.1%), inability to buy drugs locally (18.6%), fear of adverse drug effects (14.7%), disappointment with AED efficacy when seizures recurred after surgery (8.8%), not understanding the regimen change advised by a physician (8.8%), and other reasons (5.9%) such as pregnancy and the high cost of AEDs.

 

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