J Korean Child Neurol Soc.  2011 Aug;19(2):93-101.

Current Status of ADHD Treatment in Children with Epilepsy: A Retrospective, Multicenter, Cross Sectional Analysis in Korea

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea.
  • 2Department of Pediatrics, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Korea.
  • 3Department of Pediatrics, Inha University College of Medicine, Korea.
  • 4Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University College of Medicine, Korea.
  • 5Department of Pediatrics, Chungbuk National University School of Medicine, Korea.
  • 6Department of Pediatrics, Pusan National University Children's Hospital, Korea.
  • 7Department of Pediatrics, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Korea.
  • 8Department of Pediatrics, Inje University College of Medicine, Korea.
  • 9Department of Pediatrics, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Korea. sunjun@jbnu.ac.kr
  • 10JeonJu Public Health Center, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to assess the current therapeutic status of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children with epilepsy.
METHODS
A cross-sectional survey of 178 patients aged 4-20 years from ten pediatric neurology clinics in eight cities in South Korea from January 2005 to July 2010 was used to assess clinical characteristics of ADHD patients with epilepsy and risk factors associated with ADHD.
RESULTS
A total of 178 pediatric epileptic patients were recruited for this study. One hundred seventy-four subjects' (M:F=4:1, mean age: 12.2+/-3.3 yrs old) records were evaluated excluding four patients due to incomplete data. One hundred twenty-five of 174 patients (71.8%) had partial epilepsy and 45 had generalized epilepsy. Eighty of 112 patients showed ADHD combined type from the DSM IV. The mean prevalence rate of ADHD treatment among the epileptic patients was 1.9%. Over 45% of patients showed complete or persistent symptoms without difficulties in school life with CNS stimulants. Adverse reactions were reported in 19.8% of patients who received ADHD medication, and 18 patients discontinued ADHD medication due to severe adverse effects such as aggravated seizures (5.6%) or ADHD symptoms (3.7%). About 60% of children with ADHD and epilepsy had psychiatric comorbid disorders.
CONCLUSION
The results indicate that ADHD treatment in epilepsy patients is safe and effective. However, these data also show that ADHD in pediatric epilepsy patients in Korea is under-diagnosed and under-treated.

Keyword

Epilepsy; Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder; Child; Treatment

MeSH Terms

Aged
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Epilepsies, Partial
Epilepsy
Epilepsy, Generalized
Humans
Korea
Neurology
Prevalence
Republic of Korea
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Seizures
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