Refilling and switching of antiepileptic drugs and seizure-related events

Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2010 Sep;88(3):347-53. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2010.90. Epub 2010 Jul 14.

Abstract

We sought to estimate the risk of seizure-related events associated with refilling prescriptions for antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and to estimate the effect of switching between brand-name and generic drugs or between two generic versions of the same drug. We conducted a case-crossover study using health-care databases from British Columbia, Canada, among AED users who had an emergency room visit or hospitalization for seizure (index seizure-related event), defined using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9) codes 345.xx (epilepsy and recurrent seizures) and 780.3x (convulsions), between 1997 and 2005. AED prescription refilling itself was associated with 2.3-fold elevated odds of seizure-related events when the refill occurred within 21 days before the index event (odds ratio (OR) 2.31; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.56-3.44). The OR was 2.75 (95% CI 0.88-8.64) for refills that involved switching, yielding a refill-adjusted OR for switching of 1.19 (95% CI 0.35-3.99). Refilling the same AED prescription was associated with an elevated risk of seizure-related events whether or not the refill involved switching from a brand-name to a generic product.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Anticonvulsants / adverse effects
  • Anticonvulsants / pharmacokinetics
  • Anticonvulsants / therapeutic use*
  • British Columbia
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Cross-Over Studies
  • Databases, Factual
  • Drugs, Generic / adverse effects
  • Drugs, Generic / pharmacokinetics
  • Drugs, Generic / therapeutic use*
  • Epilepsy / drug therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Risk
  • Secondary Prevention
  • Seizures / prevention & control*
  • Therapeutic Equivalency
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Anticonvulsants
  • Drugs, Generic