Abstracts

Rationale: This is a unique study looking at adult patients with generalized epilepsy, to identify risk factors for development of drug resistant epilepsy (DRE). This will help to identify patients at increased risk for DRE, which will allow patients to receive earlier treatment and more specifically individualized treatment plans.Methods: This is a case-control study. 118 patients with generalized epilepsy (GE) between the ages of 18 and 75 were included after selection from a database of 800 patients referred from throughout Saskatchewan. Definitions are used in accordance with 2010 ILAE criteria. Univariate analysis and logistic regression were used. Odds ratio and confidence interval were calculated.Results: 43 (37%) patients fulfill the definition of DRE (cases), 74 (63%) patients were not intractable (controls). Cases of DRE were significantly younger than controls at the onset of epilepsy (6.5 vs. 18.8 p= <0.001). Significant variables on univariate analysis epilepsy diagnosed prior to 12 years (OR 11.75 , CI 4.75-29.1), p <0.001, status epilepticus (OR 15.6, CI 3.3- 73.4), p <0.001, frequent generalized spike waves on first EEG, (OR 3.2, CI 1.39-7.5) p= 0.005, developmental delay (OR 13.5, CI 5.3-34.4) p <0.001, cryptogenic epilepsy (OR 10, CI 3.7-26.8), p <0.001. Presence of developmental delay and more than one seizure profile remained statistically significant after multivariate analysis.Conclusions: Our study found that presence of more than one seizure profile and the presence of developmental delay are significantly associated with DRE. Risk factors identified in our study are similar to those previously identified, however our study is specifically tailored to adult patients with generalized epilepsy.