[Women with epilepsy before and during pregnancy: a case series of outpatient counseling in a tertiary epilepsy center].

BACKGROUND

Data of large pregnancy registries have improved the recommendations for women with epilepsy before pregnancy. Monotherapy containing antiepileptic drugs with a low malformation rate (lamotrigine or levetiracetam) is recommended as well as preconceptional folic acid supplementation, while valproic acid should be avoided. The practicability of these recommendations remains controversial.

METHODS

Retrospective case series of 160 women with epilepsy over a period of 5 years who were advised in our outpatient department before and during pregnancy.

RESULTS

Only 18.9% of women presented with valproic acid. Even without valproic acid, complications or emergency admissions rarely occurred under specialist supervision. In our case series, lamotrigine proved to be less effective and less controllable than other drugs during pregnancy. Levetiracetam also has a low malformation rate, but showed a better effect on seizure outcome during pregnancy than lamotrigine. Only 12% of women who wanted to have children took folic acid.

CONCLUSION

This case series comes from a tertiary center; the referred women were mainly accompanied by neurologists with special expertise in epileptology. In this group valproate could be avoided in most cases. Lamotrigine is probably less effective due to the drop in blood levels during pregnancy. Levetiracetam seems to be a good alternative, working well against focal and generalized seizures. Folic acid may be taken later than recommended.