Ap. Popli et al., OCCURRENCE OF SEIZURES RELATED TO PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATION AMONG PSYCHIATRIC-INPATIENTS, Psychiatric services, 46(5), 1995, pp. 486-488
Objective: Seizures associated with psychotropic medication are seriou
s and reportable adverse drug reactions. This study examined the occur
rence of seizures associated with psychotropic medication during psych
iatric hospitalization. Methods: Among 10,994 admissions to a psychiat
ric teaching hospital over a 30-month period between 1990 and 1993, 29
patients were identified by a specially trained quality assurance nur
se as having seizures that were probably related to psychotropic medic
ation. These cases were verified by a clinical pharmacist and a psycho
pharmacologist. Two patients were excluded, and the records of 27 pati
ents were reviewed in detail. Results: Nineteen of the 27 patients (70
percent) whose seizures were related to psychotropic medication had a
preexisting seizure disorder and eight had new-onset seizures. Psycho
tropic medications were Primarily implicated as being associated with
seizures in the cases of three of the 19 patients with preexisting sei
zure disorders (15.8 percent) and five of the eight patients with new-
onset seizures (62.5 percent). In the group with preexisting seizure d
isorders, six patients (32 percent) had subtherapeutic blood levels of
antiseizure medication, and four (21 percent) experienced pseudoseizu
res. Conclusions: Seizures among inpatients on psychotropic medication
were infrequent (.3 percent of psychiatric admissions); the majority
(70 percent) occurred in patients with preexisting seizure disorders.
Seizures were directly attributed to psychotropic medications in less
than .1 percent of admissions.