Safety and Efficacy of Supratherapeutic Doses of Clobazam

CLB add-on treatment in patients with epileptic encephalopathy: a single center experience with long-term follow-up

Clobazam (CLB) is an effective anticonvulsant used as an adjunctive treatment for several seizures and epilepsy syndromes. Data are limited on efficacy and safety of CLB as add-on therapy for epileptic encephalopaties (EEs) other than Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS). This retrospective study aimed to assess efficacy and safety of long-term CLB add-on therapy for various EE syndromes. Data on CLB add-on therapy were assessed in 74 children (60.8% male) after 3 months (early) and 12 months (late) follow-up as well as in 57 (77%) patients who had been on CLB therapy longer than 12 months (mean:39.11 ± 30.29; range:12-129 months) (very late) were reported. Data on CLB add-on therapy were assessed in 74 children (60.8% male) after 3 months (early) and 12 months (late) follow-up as well as in 57 (77%) patients who had been on CLB therapy longer than 12 months (mean:39.11 ± 30.29; range:12-129 months) (very late) were reported. Good response rate (> 50%) for seizures was achieved in 24% at early follow-up, 30% at late follow-up, and 35% during very late follow-up. Complete seizure remission was achieved for 15% seizures; 72.7% occurred at very late follow-up. Myoclonic seizures were the most responsive (35%); this response increased during late follow-up (46%), whereas 27.3% of myoclonic-atonic/atonic seizures had good response at early and very late follow-up. At late follow-up, comparison of mean effective doses of CLB did not show significant difference among types of seizures with good response. Adverse effects reported in 15% of patients did not require stopping CLB therapy. Generalized epileptogenic potentials significantly decreased while focal epileptogenic potentials significantly increased at first year of treatment in comparison to basal EEG findings (p < 0.001). CLB should be considered as an optional antiepileptic that is well tolerated, particularly in EEs with myoclonic and myoclonic-atonic/atonic seizures.

Continued Gap in Seizure Frequency Documentation

Proper documentation during neurology clinic visits is essential. Medical providers that document precise and standardized findings aid other providers, nurses, and research personnel. The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) created standardized quality measures in order to improve delivery of care for patients with epilepsy, providers, and systems. In this article, we reviewed a total of 777 charts in order to find documentation on seizure frequency from the most recent clinical visit. Data was collected from electronic healthcare records. During initial chart review, the following information was noted: age, gender, seizure type(s), etiology type(s), provider (neurologist or epileptologist), whether seizure frequency was noted, and the reason for no documentation. The data review represented a sample of the epilepsy population seen at our institution. Of the 734 individuals, 475 patients had seizure frequency documented (65%). Two hundred and fifty-nine (259) people (35%) were missing seizure frequency data. For those individuals, we determined the reasoning behind why this data was not present in the chart note. Of those 259 charts, there were 65 (25%) charts missing seizure frequency, 161 (62%) charts that were vague, and 33 (13%) charts where seizure frequency could not be determined. Based on our findings, the documentation of seizure frequency is a gap in care.