| Summary: | Beshir Bedru Nasir,1 Yared Mamushet Yifru,2 Ephrem Engidawork,1 Meron Awraris Gebrewold,2 Minyahil Alebachew Woldu,1 Alemseged Beyene Berha1 1Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University (AAU), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, AAU, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Beshir Bedru NasirDepartment of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, AAU, Churchill Avenue, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaEmail beshir.bedru@aau.edu.etObjective: Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) are the primary therapeutic modalities for epilepsy management. However, one-third of epileptic patients continue to experience seizure even with appropriate AED use. Patients with epilepsy are at increased risk for seizure-related injury and they have higher incidences of home, street and work accidents. There is a paucity of data on AED use pattern and treatment outcomes among patients with epilepsy in the tertiary hospitals of Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess AED use pattern, treatment outcome, and prevalence of seizure-related injury among patients with epilepsy in Tikur Anbessa specialized Hospital (TASH), Ethiopia.Patients and Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 291 patients with epilepsy attending the neurology clinic of TASH. A semi-structured questionnaire and data abstraction format were used to collect data through patient interview and medical chart review. Binary logistic regression was utilized to identify the associated factors of treatment outcome.Results: About 172 (59%) of the patients were taking a single AED, in which phenobarbital, 195 (67%), and phenytoin, 97 (33.3%), were the most frequently prescribed AEDs as monotherapy and combination therapy. Headache, depressed mood and epigastric pain were frequently reported as adverse drug reactions. Seizure-related injury was reported among 78 (26.8%) patients and head injury 15 (5.2%), desntal injury 15 (5.2%), soft tissue injury 14 (4.8%) and burns 10 (3.4%) were the commonest. About two-thirds (191, 65.6%) of the study participants had uncontrolled seizure. Medication adherence and multiple AEDs were significantly associated with treatment outcome.Conclusion: All the study participants were put on old generation AEDs with phenobarbital being the most frequently used. About two-thirds of the patients had uncontrolled seizure and seizure-related injury is still a serious concern among patients with epilepsy.Keywords: epilepsy, treatment outcome, seizure-related injuries, Ethiopia
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