Epilepsy Treatment Outcome and Its Predictors Among Children Who Had Chronic Follow Up at Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital

Figures & data

Table 1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Pediatric Patients with Epilepsy in DCSH, Northeast Ethiopia, 2022 (n = 200)

Variables	Category	Frequency	Percentage
Age	<5 years	27	13.5
	5–10 years	116	58.0
	11–15 years	46	23.0
	>15 years	11	5.5
Sex	Male	95	47.5
	Female	105	52.5
Residence	Urban	74	37.0
	Rural	126	63.0
Care giver educational status	Unable to read and write	75	37.5
	Able to read and write	64	32.0
	Primary school	34	17.0
	Secondary school	14	7.0
	College and above	13	6.5
Care giver occupational status	Farmer	99	49.5
	Government employee	67	33.5
	Private employee	23	11.5
	Daily labourer	11	5.5
Family monthly income	≤2000 EB	10	5.0
	>2000 EB	190	95.0

Abbreviation: EB, Ethiopian birr.

Table 2 Clinical Conditions of Pediatric Patients with Epilepsy in DCSH, Northeast Ethiopia, 2022

Variables	Category	Frequency	Percentage
Drug discontinued	Yes	51	25.5
	No	149	74.5
Adherence of medication	Excellent	97	48.5
	Good	48	24
	Poor	55	27.5
Age at onset of seizure in years	≤4	129	64.5
	5–9	38	19.0
	10–14	21	10.5
	15–17	12	6.0
Type of seizure during diagnosis	Focal	69	34.5
	General	100	50.0
	Unclassified	31	15.5
Duration of seizure before initiation of treatment in years	≤2	61	30.5
	3–5	47	23.5
	>5	92	46.0
Duration after treatment started in years	≤2	113	56.5
	3–5	52	26.0
	>5	35	17.5
Causes of seizure	Idiopathic	87	43.5
	Post meningitis	27	13.5
	Post traumatic	39	19.5
	History of perinatal insult	39	19.5
	Other	8	4.0
Status epilepticus	Yes	74	37.0
	No	126	63.0
Comorbidity	Yes	60	30.0
	No	140	70.0
Family history of epilepsy	Yes	35	17.5
	No	165	82.5
History of head injury	Yes	60	30.0
	No	140	70.0
Frequency of seizure per month before treatment	≤5	121	60.5
	>5	79	39.5
Associated neurologic problem	Yes	30	15.0
	No	170	85.0
Type of associated neurologic problems (n = 30)	Motor weakness	13	43.3
	Learning disabilities	11	36.7%
	Hearing problem	6	20%
Triggering factors	Yes	66	33.0
	No	134	67.0
Type of triggering factors (n = 66)	Emotional stress	19	28.8
	Sleep deprivation	38	57.6
	Missing of medication	9	13.6

Abbreviation: n, sample size.

Table 3 Medical Conditions of Pediatric Patients with Epilepsy in DCSH, Northeast Ethiopia, 2022

Variables	Category	Frequency	Percentage
Modes of therapy	Mono-therapy	122	61.0
	Dual therapy	51	25.5
	Triple therapy	27	13.5
First drug	Phenobarbiton	107	53.5
	Phenytoin	61	30.5
	Valproate	18	9.0
	Carbamazepine	14	7.0
Second drugs initiated	Yes	80	40.0
	No	120	60.0
Types of second drug (n=80)	Phenobarbiton	17	21.25
	Phenytoin	37	46.25
	Valproate	17	21.25
	Carbamazepine	9	11.25
Reasons for shifting from first to second treatment category (n=80)	Drug side effect	21	26.25
	Absence of drug	23	28.75
	High cost of drugs	5	6.25
	Poor control by first drug	31	38.75
Febrile illness	Yes	42	21.0
	No	158	79.0
History of delayed mile stones	Yes	29	14.5
	No	171	85.5
Phase of therapy	Maintenance phase	140	70.0
	Escalation phase	38	19.0
	Tapering phase	22	11.0
Reported adverse effect	Yes	45	22.5
	No	155	77.5

Abbreviation: n, sample size.

Figure 1 Treatment outcomes of pediatric patients with epilepsy in DCSH, 2022.

Table 4 Factors Associated with Treatment Outcomes Among Epileptic Pediatric Patients in DCSH Northeast Ethiopia, 2022

Variables	Category	Treatment Outcome		COR with 95% CI	AOR with 95% CI
		Poor	Good
Age category	<5 years	7	20	1	1
	5–10 years	36	80	1.29 (0.499, 3.312)	1.82 (0.617, 5.349)
	11–15 years	19	27	2.01 (0.709, 5.699)	4.08 (1.202, 13.848)
	>15years	7	4	5.00 (1.116, 22.408)	4.55 (0.873, 23.688)
Adherence status	Excellent	27	70	1	1
	Good	15	33	1.18 (0.554, 2.507)	1.66 (0.696, 3.947)
	Poor	27	28	2.50 (1.253, 4.986)	3.21 (1.421, 7.249)
Frequency of seizure per month before treatment	≤5	32	89	1	1
	>5	37	42	2.45 (1.346, 4.459)	4.19 (1.984, 8.834)
History of head injury	Yes	32	28	3.18 (1.692, 5.980)	3.03 (1.502, 6.112)
	No	37	103	1	1

Note: Bold indicates significant variable at p-value <0.05.

Abbreviations: AOR, Adjusted Odds Ratio; CI, Confidence interval; COR, Crude Odds Ratio.

Data Sharing Statement

The data-sets used and analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.