Discontinuation of anticonvulsant therapy in children with partial epilepsy

To evaluate when it is possible to discontinue anticonvulsant treatment in children with cryptogenic partial epilepsy, the authors studied 89 epilepti c children divided into two groups: Group A, 45 children whose therapy was discontinued after 1 year from the last seizure; and Group B, 44 children w hose therapy was stopped after 2 years from the last seizure. After 5 years of follow-up, the recurrence rate was similar in the two groups of patient s (Group A, 28.8%; Group B, 25%). It is safe to discontinue the anticonvuls ant therapy in children with cryptogenic partial epilepsy who were seizure free for only 1 year.