Change in Antiseizure and Anxiolytic Medications Pre- and Post-Cannabidiol Initiation
Abstract number :
3.287
Submission category :
7. Anti-seizure Medications / 7E. Other
Year :
2023
Submission ID :
858
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/4/2023 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Authors :
Presenting Author: Gang Fang, PharmD MS PhD – Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Anne Marie Morse, DO – Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, USA; Teresa Greco, MD, PhD – Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Gentium Srl, Villa Guardia, Italy; Sheila Thomas, PharmD – Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Palo Alto, CA, USA; Timothy Saurer, PhD – Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Palo Alto, CA, USA; Hema Viswanathan, PhD – Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Rationale: Polypharmacy of antiseizure medications (ASMs) is a burden for patients and may increase the risk of drug-drug interactions and adverse events. Literature suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) may potentially have benefits on nonseizure outcomes (eg, anxiety control). There is limited real-world evidence of changes in ASMs and anxiolytic use following the initiation of CBD in people with epilepsy. This study aimed to investigate this question.
Methods: This retrospective pre-post study uses the US MarketScan® administrative claims database. Patients were included if they had Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), Dravet syndrome (DS), tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), or other refractory epilepsies, and initiated CBD (Epidiolex®) between June 2019 to May 2022, with 180 days of continuous enrollment in commercial health plans and Medicaid before and after CBD initiation. The numbers of other ASMs and anxiolytics and the numbers of their pharmacological classes per patient per month were assessed and plotted in the six months of pre- and post-CBD initiation. Segmented regression-based interrupted time-series (ITS) analyses were implemented to investigate trends of ASM and anxiolytic use. Annual changes in other ASMs and anxiolytic medication use, and their classes after the CBD initiation, were derived by applying regression coefficients (p-value < 0.05) from the ITS analyses. The analyses were stratified by patient populations of health insurance types.
Anti-seizure Medications