Abstracts

Though important factors in the success of treatment for epilepsy, both medication satisfaction and medication preference as indicated by the patient, parent (in the case of adolescents), and physician are frequently not adequately measured in traditional clinical trials. Through increased medication compliance, both satisfaction and preference can play a role in disease outcome. In this study, medication satisfaction and preference instruments were used to derive data from subjects switched from immediate-release carbamazepine (IR-CBZ) to an equal total daily dose of Carbatrol[reg] extended-release capsules (CBZ-ERC) at a minimum of 400 mg/d At baseline, eligible and enrolled subjects were switched from their current IR-CBZ product to an equal total daily dose of CBZ-ERC. Grounds for exclusion from this multicenter study included: known history of generalized tonic-clonic status epilepticus or epilepsy syndrome that may potentially worsen with carbamazepine treatment, progressive neurological disorder, receiving more than 1 additional antiepileptic drug or any type of neuroleptic drug, or CBZ-ERC treatment within 90 days of study screening. Data from 358 patients with epilepsy were collected, as well as data from 391 physicians, and 33 parents (of adolescent study participants). Assessment was performed at baseline (month 0) and month 3 using medication satisfaction and preference instruments. Medication satisfaction, preference and compliance instruments used in this study were questionnaires designed to evaluated the acceptability of Carbatrol[reg] versus the previous IR-CBZ treatment regimen. Separate questionnaires were designed for, and completed by, patients, parents, and physicians. Satisfaction questionnaires used a 6-point scale with answers ranging from [ldquo]strongly agree[rdquo] to [ldquo]strongly disagree, [ldquo]while preference questionnaires used 3 answer categories: [ldquo] prefer new medication, [ldquo] [ldquo] prefer previous medication, [ldquo] and [ldquo] equal preference.[rdquo] Results of medication satisfaction and preference instruments at month 3 from patients switched from IR-CBZ to CBZ-ERC showed improvements in every variable queried. Overall, 78.8% of both patients and parents (of adolescent patients), as well as 86.4% of physicians preferred CBZ-ERC to previous IR-CBZ medications. Patient responses also indicated that compared to 38.7% at baseline (IR-CBZ), 58.6% of patients [ldquo]strongly agree[rdquo] that they rarely skip or miss a dose of their medication (with CBZ-ERC). Results indicate that according to patients, parents (of Adolescent study participants), and physicians, CBZ-ERC is preferred to IR-CBZ for the treatment of partial-onset epilepsy resulting in improved compliance. (Supported by Shirev