Improvement in antiepileptic drug levels following reduction of intervals between clinic visits.

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.