engleski

Prescription of antiepieptic drugs according to the age in the Republic of Croatia

According to the established knowledge, the age of patients is an important parameter in the choice of antiepileptic therapy. In elderly it is important to choose well tolerated AED with less interactions with other drugs and smaller effect on cognitive functioning. In population of women of childbearnig potential it is important to use AED with no interactions with oral contraceptives and with the lowest risk for fetal malformations.Aim: to investigate whether actual use of antiepileptic therapy is based on the current guidelines for age adjusted antiepileptic teratment/prescription of AED is according to current guidelines for age adjusted antiepileptic treatment. Subjects and methods: The investigation was performed on the data for 2005, that were collected from primary health care physicians and pediatricians from all regions of Croatia. The sample consisted of 1022 subjects with active epilepsy divided into the following age grops: 0-7 years ( n=119) ; 8-14 years (n=154) ; 15-24 years (n=137) ; 25-34 years (n=146) ; 35-44 years (n=108) ; 45-54 years (n=106) ; 55-64 years (n=110) and >=65 years (n=142). Results: prescription of barbiturates rises with the age incerase, and they aare the most often used AED in adult population, Valproates are the most frequently used antiepileptics in children and their prescription decreases with the age, as the prescription of topiramate. Lamotrigine is generally rarely prescribed, the prescription has its peak in adolescent and young adult population, prescription of benzodiazepines and other AED is almost evenly distributed in all age groups. Conclusion: The obtained results show that the prescription of barbiturates and lamotrigine in Croatia is not in accodrance with the contemporary attitudes about antiepileptic therapy, especially in the older population. It is also noted that prescription of lamotrigine is relatively rare in women of childbearing, potential, which is also not in accordance with the current guidelines.

epilepsy ; age ; antiepileptic drugs

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