Self-reported medication adherence to antiepileptic drugs and treatment satisfaction among paediatric patients having epilepsy: A cross sectional study from the Indian subcontinent

Abstract

Introduction: Non adherence to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) can vary the course of epilepsy. There is a dearth of data regarding adherence status among paediatric epilepsy patients. Objectives: To determine the level of AED adherence among paediatric patients having epilepsy and to assess the relationship between AED adherence and treatment satisfaction among paediatric epileptics. Method: A cross sectional study was conducted at a tertiary level referral hospital in northern India from July 2015 to June 2016 on children aged 2 to 13 years of age, diagnosed with epilepsy and treatment initiated with at least 1 AED for the past 6 months. Data collection was done using a questionnaire which was divided into three parts. The first part comprised demographical information about patients and their caregivers along with clinical details of epilepsy. The second part gathered information about medication adherence profile with the help of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8). The third part gathered data on treatment satisfaction profile about these patients with the help of Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM 1.4). The estimated sample size was at least 61 patients. Data was analysed using Graph Pad InStat 6.0. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional ethics committee. Results: A convenient sample of 112 patients with their respective immediate caregivers was enrolled in this study. The mean age of children was 9.82±2.17 years and male to female sex ratio was 1.24. Fifty (44.6%) patients had low adherence, 29 (25.9%) medium adherence and 33 (29.5%) high _________________________________________

Antiepileptic drug adherence in children in southern Ethiopia: A cross sectional study

“…In this study, family size of ≤5 was identified as one of the factors associated with better drug adherence. This finding is in line with findings of studies from Iran [ 30 ] and India [ 34 ]. Children with epilepsy from smaller families would get better attention, and their parents are more likely to take part in epilepsy management activities (for example, regular administration or supervision of AED administration).…”

“…This could be probably because patients might have perceived negligible benefits from the AEDs when seizure recurred while they were adhering to the treatment. Similar findings were reported from Jordan and India [ 34 ]. Low family income adversely affected AED adherence in our study because most patients pay for AEDs, and some of the drugs are not readily available in public pharmacies.…”

“…Similarly, our finding is in line with the result of a systematic review and meta-analysis from Ethiopia involving adult patients that revealed a pooled prevalence of AED non-adherence of 39.77% [ 21 ] However, the level of adherence noted in our study is lower than those reported in other studies [ 14 , 32 ]. Although there is a difference in the method used to measure adherence, our study showed a higher level of adherence than those reported by other authors [ 23 , 33 , 34 ]. The relatively higher adherence level in our setting, however, should be interpreted cautiously as self-reported adherence may not reflect the actual level of adherence due to the recall and social desirability biases associated with this method [ 16 ].…”

Adherence to antiepileptic drugs among patients attending the neuro spinal hospital in the united arab emirates

“…In this study, 76.5% of participants were prescribed monotherapy. This is in agreement with studies from India (66.1%),[ 30 ] the United States (61%),[ 31 ] and Malaysia (59.9%). [ 32 ] It is worth noting here that our result is consistent with evidence-based guidelines that recommend the use of monotherapy as an initial approach for the majority of patients with epileptic.…”

Adherence to anti-seizure medications and associated factors among children with epilepsy at tertiary Hospital in Southwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…According to WHO's adherence to long-term therapies, adherence to anti-seizure medications in children with epilepsy ranges from 25 to 75% [10]. Specifically; the prevalence rate of adherence to ASMs was 55% in South Africa in 2016 [11], 55.2% in Nigeria in 2020 [12], 79.5% in Uganda in 2014 [13], 61.7% in Saudi Arabia in 2015 [14], 29% in Indian subcontinent in 2018 [15], 21.3% in western China in 2020 [16]; and 42% in USA in 2011 [17].…”