Usefulness of extended-release topiramate in patients with epilepsy: A two-year retention study.

Abstract

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE:

Extended-release topiramate (TPM-XR) was recently approved for the treatment of epilepsy, but there is only limited real-world information on the clinical usefulness of TPM-XR in epilepsy patients. We investigated the usefulness of TPM-XR in clinical practice by analysing the retention of TPM-XR in adult epilepsy patients.

METHODS:

We performed a single-centre retrospective study covering two years. Epilepsy patients taking TPM-XR were included in the study and classified into one of three groups: the monotherapy group, in which patients took only TPM-XR; the adjunctive therapy group, in which patients took TPM-XR concomitant with other AEDs; and the switching AED regimen group, in which patient's AED was switched from immediate-release TPM (TPM-IR) to TPM-XR. We evaluated the retention rates of TPM-XR and analysed the differences in retention rate among the three patient groups.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

We included 164 epilepsy patients who received TPM-XR for the treatment of epilepsy. The overall retention rate of TPM-XR was generally favourable: 79.1% after one year and 77.7% after two years. The switching AED regimen group had a better retention rate than the other two groups (p = 0.04), with a one-year retention rate of 90.6% and a two-year retention rate of 88.1%.

WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION:

The favourable retention rate of TPM-XR shows that TPM-XR can be an effective treatment option for epilepsy patients, as either a monotherapy or as an adjunctive therapy. Additionally, switching AED regimen to TPM-XR from TPM-IR can be considered in selected epilepsy patients with poor adherence to TPM-IR.

• Authors: Hyemi Lee, Dong Wook Kim
• Journal: Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics (J Clin Pharm Ther) Vol. 46 Issue 5 Pg. 1412-1417 (Oct 2021) ISSN: 1365-2710 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 34146432 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Chemical References

• Anticonvulsants
• Delayed-Action Preparations
• Topiramate

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Anticonvulsants (administration & dosage, adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Delayed-Action Preparations
• Drug Therapy, Combination
• Epilepsy (drug therapy)
• Female
• Humans
• Longitudinal Studies
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Patient Dropouts
• Retrospective Studies
• Topiramate (administration & dosage, adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Young Adult