Prevalence of liver complications in the epileptic patients referred to epilepsy clinic

Abstract

Side effects of anticonvulsant drugs are very common and have a significant impact on quality of life. This can lead to treatment failure of up to 40%. The side effects of anticonvulsant drugs are very different, and since they have almost the same effectiveness, they are often an important factor in choosing a drug for treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatic complications of antiepileptic drugs. Materials and Methods: Epileptic patients are requested as the basis of tests including liver function enzymes or LFT including ALT, AST, GGT and bilirubin total, direct and indirect, alkaline phosphatase (ALK) and the patient's clinical condition through examination. The liver function enzymes or LFT, including ALT, AST, GGT and total, direct and indirect bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase (ALK) and the patient's clinical condition are re-checked 2 weeks later. Also during the course of treatment, LFT tests and the patient's condition are checked every 6 months. Results: In this cross-sectional study, data related to epilepsy patients of Razi Hospital were collected from February 2017 to the end of July 2016, and finally 600 patients were studied, with a mean age of 43±14.98. In terms of gender distribution, 354 (59%) were male and 245 (41%) were female. The mean number of drugs used to control epilepsy in the studied patients was 1.90±0.95; 262 patients (43.7%) took one drug, 174 patients (29%) took two drugs, 122 patients (20.3%) took three drugs and 42 patients (7%) took four drugs. The highest increase in paraclinical trials was related to the increase in GGT two weeks and one month later, which was associated with an increase in the number of drugs used. The most common drug used in the studied patients was valproic acid. Also, the mean duration of epilepsy in the studied patients was 116.56±123.76 with a median of 72 months, and patients with a longer duration of epilepsy received a greater number of antiepileptic drugs (p=0.001).