Abstract

Aim and Background: Epilepsy is an important chronic neurological disease in the pediatric population and the main goal of treatment is to prevent recurrent seizures. Cognitive, neurological and behavioral status of the patient and the side effects of antiepileptic drug (AED) are monitored in follow-up visits. In this study, we investigated the clinical characteristics and the factors affecting prognosis in children with epilepsy and receiving antiepileptic drug therapy, their treatment compliance and outpatient follow-up.

Method: Records of patients who applied to the pediatric outpatient clinic and followed for 6 to 24 months for epilepsy were analyzed retrospectively over a period of 46 months. Patients who were regularly followed up for 24 months and adherent to AED were described as the compliant group. Sociodemographic factors and clinical data were evaluated by descriptive statistics and Chi-Square, Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney-U tests.

Results: A total of 87 patients who were included to the study, consisted of 36 girls(41.4%) and 51 boys(58.6%) and had a mean age of 67.7±38.6 months. The first seizure frequently occurred between 0-24 months of age (44.7%). Generalized syndromes were more frequent (59.8%). The 43.8 percent of patients applied to outpatient clinic in twenty-four hours after the first seizure. As the age of the onset of the first seizure increases, the period between onset of seizures and admittance to the outpatient clinic decreased(p

Key words: epilepsy, pediatrics, antiepileptics, prognosis