Abstract 132: Utility of Prophylactic Antiepileptic Drug Administration on Seizure Prevention and Disability Following Intracerebral Hemorrhage in the Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage Study

Background & Purpose: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has the highest morbidity and mortality rate of any stroke subtype and clinicians often administer prophylactic anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) as a means of preventing post-stroke seizures, particularly following lobar hemorrhage (LH). However, evidence for AED efficacy in preventing seizures and reducing disability is lacking given difficulty executing randomized prospective trials. We report an analysis of data from a large prospective observational study of ICH that evaluates the effect of prophylactic AED administration on seizure occurrence and disability following ICH. Methods: Primary analysis was performed on 1636 patients with ICH enrolled in the Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ERICH) study with subset analysis completed in patients with primary LH (n=562). A propensity score for administration of prophylactic AED was based on age, gender, race, ICH volume, location, presence of intraventricular hemorrhage, ventriculostomy, s...