An Examination of 1-Year Adherence and Persistence Rates to Antiepileptic Medication in Children With Newly Diagnosed Epilepsy

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of the current study was to use new methods to examine 1-year quality of medication dosing (adherence) and continuation with medication treatment (persistence) rates to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in children with newly diagnosed epilepsy. METHODS: Medication-taking behaviors of AEDs were assessed using electronic monitors for 117 children with newly diagnosed epilepsy for the first year after diagnosis. RESULTS: Approximately 15% of participants were categorized as nonpersistent (i.e., failed to take medication for >15 consecutive days) 6-months after AED initiation, which increased to 26.6% of participants at 1 year. The majority of medication dosing events took place within a +/-2-hr interval as recommended. The group with lower socioeconomic status demonstrated more nonpersistence over time. CONCLUSION: Examining adherence and persistence in medication taking behaviors may yield different types of data for clinical and research purposes. Language: en