The Burden of Severely Drug-Refractory Epilepsy: A Comparative Longitudinal Evaluation of Mortality, Morbidity, Resource Use, and Cost Using German Health Insurance Data.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To evaluate long-term outcome of three years and treatment patterns of patients suffering from severely drug-refractory epilepsy (SDRE).

Methods

This analysis was population-based and retrospective, with data collected from four million individuals insured by statutory German health insurance. ICD-10 codes for epilepsy (G40*) and intake of anticonvulsants were used to identify prevalent cases, which were then compared with a matched cohort drawn from the population at large. Insurance data were available from 2008 to 2013. Any patient who had been prescribed with at least four different antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in an 18-month period was defined as an SDRE case.

Results

A total of 769 patients with SDRE were identified. Of these, 19% were children and adolesc

SUBMITTER: Strzelczyk A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5743903 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature