Background: Epilepsy is a deactivating and frequent neurological disease, which can be effectively controlled in nearly all patients with single or combined antiepileptic drugs. The ketogenic diet (KD) is an effective highfat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet for patients with refractory epilepsy. The present study aimed to assess awareness, perception, and frequency of use and potential effects of the KD on epileptic patients in King Khalid Hospital, Hail city, Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in King Khalid Hospital outpatient clinics, Hail city. The study targeted epileptic patients attending the neurology outpatient clinic from December 2020 to February 2021. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire included patient's data and epilepsy clinical data, including duration, control, and treatments. The third part covered the patient's awareness regarding the KD KDand the patient's perception regarding KD efficacy in seizure control.
Results: The study included 126 epileptic patients whose ages ranged from 20 to 65 years with a mean age of 27.9 ± 11.8 years. 67 (53.2%) patients were male and 46 (36.5%) had university level education. Epilepsy was diagnosed at the age of 16 years or above among 57 (45.2%) patients. Exactly 47 (37.3%) patients knew about KD. Also, nine patients (7.1%) followed KD, three for less than 1 month, and four for 1-3 months.
Conclusion: The study revealed that nearly one-third of the patients know about KD, but a very low portion used this dietary system to control seizures. All those who used KD showed improvement in controlling epileptic seizures and sleep quality.
Key words: Ketogenic diet, ketone, epilepsy, control, seizures, awareness, perception, practice.
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