Long-term follow-up study of topiramate in the treatment of symptomatic epilepsy in infants

Objective To observe the long-term efficacy and safety of topiramate in the treatment of symptomatic epilepsy in infants. Methods Fifty infants with symptomatic epilepsy were collected.The monotherapy was started with topiramate from April 2012 to April 2013, including 26 males and 24 females.The effective rate, retention rate and adverse effects after using the medication at 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years were evaluated.Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to calculate the retention rate and analyze the risk factors for retention rate. Results From the beginning of using the medicine, the effective rate was 66.00% at 1 year, 61.90% at 2 years, 58.33% at 3 years, and 53.33% at 4 years, respectively.The rates of complete remission were 44.00%, 42.86%, 41.67%, 36.67% at 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, respectively.The main adverse effects of topiramate were drowsiness, hypodynamia, weight loss, anepithymia, vomit, diarrhea, hypohidrosis, slowly thinking active, attention disorders, etc.The retention rate was 84.00% at 1 year, 72.00% at 2 years, 60.00% at 3 years, and 48.00% at 4 years.The main causes of stopping medication were lower curative effect of topiramate monotherapy and side effects. Conclusion Topiramate in the treatment of infants with symptomatic epilepsy has good effect and safety, with higher retention rate in a long-term follow-up.The major factors that affect the retention rate are lower curative effect and adverse reactions.Slowly add quantity and low dose treatment can reduce adverse drug reactions, improve compliance and increase retention rate. Key words: Epilepsy; Topiramate; Infant