Abstract
Background: Epilepsy affects 50 million people worldwide and approximately 10 million of these people live in India, but many patients with active epilepsy do not receive suitable treatment for their condition, leading to a large treatment gap.

Aims and Objectives: This study was conducted to gather baseline information regarding the prescribing pattern of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for seizure disorders, adverse reactions, and cost analysis.

Materials and Methods: It was a prospective study spanning 6 months (January 2019–June 2019), we analyzed the prescription data of 100 patients with seizures willing to give consent. Patients <18 years were excluded from the study. Data obtained were noted and analyzed for demographic profile (gender and age), diagnosis, details of the drugs prescribed, adverse reactions (if any), and cost.

Results: Out of the 100 patients, generalized tonic-clonic epilepsy was most common (73%) and levetiracetam (36.50%) was the most commonly prescribed AED. About 51% of the patients were given multitherapy and 49% were given monotherapy. About 80.9% of the drugs were prescribed from the National List of Essential Medicines 2015 and 96.10% were prescribed by brand name. The average cost of drug per prescription was 188.58 INR. Cost variation analysis of the two most commonly prescribed drugs was done, levetiracetam, and valproic acid. Cost variation percentage of valproic acid (67.4%) was higher than levetiracetam (49.2%).

Conclusion: Physician selection of drug depends on several factors such as drug tolerability, patient compliance, efficacy of treatment, and cost of therapy. This study documented a rise in the prescribing trend of newer antiepileptics. The selection of essential drugs was high; however, there is a need to emphasize the concept of prescribing generic medicine among physicians, which will help in lowering the total cost of therapy for patients.

Key words: Antiepileptic Drugs; Drug Utilization Studies; Adverse Drug Reaction; Cost analysis