Short- and long-term outcomes of immediate and delayed treatment in epilepsy diagnosed after one or multiple seizures

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the outcomes between immediate and deferred treatments in patients diagnosed after one or multiple (two or more) seizures. Methods: Our observational study investigated seizure recurrence and 12-month seizure remission in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy, comparing immediate to deferred treatment in patients diagnosed after one seizure or after two or more seizures. Results: Of 598 patients (62% male, median age 39 years), 347 (58%) were treated at diagnosis and 251 (42%) received deferred or no treatment. Seizure recurrence was higher with deferred treatment both in patients diagnosed after two or more seizures (n = 363; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 2.38, 95% c..