Risk factors for drug-resistant epilepsy in adult patients

Abstract

Introduction: Drug-resistant epilepsy occurs in about 30% of epilepsy patients. It has been suggested that etiology or seizure type would increase the risk of pharmacoresistance. This study aims to compare the characteristics of patients with drug-sensitive epilepsy with patients with drug-resistant epilepsy to identify risk factors.

Patient and methods: A multicentric cohort study was conducted between 2019 and 2022. We included patients >18 years-old with epilepsy but excluded psychogenic non-epileptic seizures and less than 2 years of follow-up.

Results: We included 128 patients, of whom 46 had drug-resistance epilepsy, and 82 responding to medication. Both groups showed similar characteristics. Febrile seizures (OR: 7.25), focal epilepsy (OR: 2.4), focal seizures with loss of consciousness (OR: 2.36), structural etiology (OR: 2.2) and abnormal MRI (OR: 4.6) were significant risk factors for drug-resistance epilepsy.

Conclusion: Following other studies, we observed that factors such as epilepsy type, seizure type, structural etiology, abnormal MRI, and febrile seizure increased the risk for drug-resistance epilepsy, in our population.

Keywords: Anti-seizure medications; Anticonvulsivos; Drug-resistant epilepsy; Drug-sensitive epilepsy; Epilepsia farmacorresistente; Epilepsia refractaria; Epilepsia sensible a fármacos; Farmacorresistencia; Pharmacoresistance; Refractory epilepsy.