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Similar antiseizure medication refill characteristics in Hispanic and White pediatric patients

Monika Baker1, Jaxon C Olsen2, Jacob Wilkes3

  • 1Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

Epilepsy Research
|July 2, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric Hispanic and White epilepsy patients showed similar antiseizure medicine (ASM) refill rates and adherence. These findings suggest ASM refill patterns do not explain lower seizure remission rates in Hispanic children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Pharmacology
  • Health Disparities

Background:

  • Children of Hispanic ethnicity experience lower rates of seizure remission in epilepsy.
  • The underlying reasons for this disparity in epilepsy treatment outcomes remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate antiseizure medicine (ASM) refill characteristics in pediatric Hispanic versus non-Hispanic White patients.
  • To determine if ASM adherence patterns contribute to observed differences in seizure remission.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective, population-based study of 247 pediatric patients (6 months to 15 years) with epilepsy.
  • Analysis of ASM refill data from an insurance provider.
  • Categorization of epilepsy outcomes: seizure-free, treatment failure, or undetermined.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences were found in ASM refill rates between Hispanic and White pediatric epilepsy patients.
  • Similar numbers of different ASMs prescribed and comparable proportion of days covered were observed.
  • Lateness of refills and choice of ASMs did not differ significantly between the groups.

Conclusions:

  • ASM refill patterns, adherence, and prescription characteristics do not appear to explain the reduced likelihood of seizure remission in pediatric Hispanic patients.
  • Further research is needed to identify other factors contributing to epilepsy treatment outcome disparities.
Abstract

Keywords:
EpilepsyHealth disparitiesMinorityPediatric

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