Delayed and deferred surgery associated with cenobamate use in people with drug-resistant focal epilepsy

Cenobamate has been shown to be an effective antiseizure medication for some patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy being considered for epilepsy surgery. This retrospective single-center study evaluated whether surgery was obtained within 12 months for patients who received cenobamate as a treatment during the presurgical evaluation and those who did not, comparing across years before and after cenobamate approval.

Patients undergoing surgical evaluation for drug-resistant focal epilepsy at the University of Colorado during 2018 and 2023 who had 12 months of follow-up data were analyzed. Comparison years were also chosen to avoid the confounding effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical volume (2020-2021). This allowed for comparison times before and after cenobamate's US Food and Drug Administration approval. The primary outcome (surgery within 12 months) was modeled with potential explanatory variables using multiple logistic regression. A p-value of <.05 was considered significant.

After controlling for potentially confounding clinical and demographic variables, cenobamate use during the presurgical evaluation period was associated with .13 lower odds of surgery within 12 months compared to not being prescribed this medication (95% confidence interval [CI] = .04-.42, p < .001). Being Hispanic or Latino was significantly associated with .23 lower odds of surgery within 12 months compared to patients who did not report being Hispanic or Latino (95% CI = .09-.61, p = .003). Year of evaluation (2023 vs. 2018), education level, age, and sex did not have significant associations with undergoing surgery within 12 months.

Patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy undergoing evaluation for epilepsy surgery may benefit from cenobamate. In this study, patients who received cenobamate during the presurgical evaluation were less likely to undergo surgery within 12 months. The delay to surgery identified among Hispanic and Latino patients suggests potential barriers to care in this patient population warranting further investigation.