Risk factors for seizure reoccurrence after withdrawal from antiepileptic drugs in individuals who have been seizure-free for over 2 years

PURPOSE To observe risk factors for recurrence after withdrawal from antiepileptic drugs. METHODS We assessed 1282 patients with a definite diagnosis of epilepsy. RESULTS In total, 292 patients between 14 and 80 years of age were grouped according to risk factors for recurrence. Of these individuals, 119 discontinued AED(s) and relapsed. The relapse rate was 34.4 per 100 person-years. We used a Cox regression for multivariate analysis to investigate the influence of the following on seizure recurrence: receiving more than one type of AED (HR = 2.53, 95% CI 1.24-5.16) and more than 6 months prior to initiation of AED treatment (HR 1.47, 95% CI = 1.004-2.15). CONCLUSIONS Although the decision to discontinue AED treatment necessitates an individual evaluation of each patient, our study suggests that there may be a high risk of recurrence in individuals who: were receiving more than one AEDs and had initiated their AED treatment more than 6 months after the initial appearance of epilepsy symptoms.