Abstracts

Rationale: Risk of suicidality in people with epilepsy (PWE) is higher than controls. The presence of psychiatric comorbidities is the strongest risk factor for suicidality in PWE. The Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (LAEP) is a self-report questionnaire for screening adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Depression in PWE tends to increase the total score of LAEP. Considering the correlation between depression, suicidality, and LAEP total score, a high total score of LAEP may be a risk for suicidality. The aim of this study is to measure the usefulness of the LAEP for detecting suicidality in PWE who have resistance to AEDs response.  Methods: PWE aged from 19 to 68 who took antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for at least one year were included. They completed the Korean version of the LAEP (K-LAEP) for detecting adverse effects of AEDs and the suicidality module of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview—Plus Version 5.0.0 for identifying the extent of suicidality risk. We validated the K-LAEP as a screening tool for detecting the high risk of suicidality in PWE. Receiver operating character (ROC) curve analyses were conducted to measure the appropriateness of a cutoff score in the K-LAEP. Results: A hundred forty four PWE participated in this study. Among them, 36 PWE (25.0%) had the high risk of suicidality. Cronbach’s a coefficient of the K-LAEP was 0.933. For a total score of the K-LAEP, cutoff scores of 45 could detect the high risk of suicidality. For an item score of the K-LAEP, a cutoff score of 8 could detect the high risk. Conclusions: The LAEP is a valid screening tool for detecting the high risk of suicidality in patients with drug resistance epilepsy. If they have high total or item score of LAEP, more evaluation including the suicidality module of MINI is needed to detect the suicidality risk. Funding: We did not have any funding.