Improvement in Antiepileptic Drug Levels Following Reduction of Intervals Between Clinic Visits

Summary: Antiepileptic drug levels (AEDLs) may reflect how well patients adhere to prescribed medical regimens. Of 30 patients on stable drug regimens AEDLs were increased in 33% by decreasing clinic visit intervals from a mean of 3.4 months to 1.1 months. The testing situation was applied to patients who had AEDLs in the “therapeutic range”(n= 15) as well as those with one or more AEDLs below “therapeutic range” (n= 15). In the latter group 73% of patients showed improvement in AEDLs. Although a less reliable parameter, verbally reported seizure frequencies were also improved. Overall, the reduction in clinic visit interval could be expected to yield improvement in 46 to 80% (confidence interval = 95%). These patients responded equally well to physician and non‐physician practitioners. This technique may be useful as an intervening measure for those patients who are noncompliant.