Defining drug-resistant epilepsy

ABSTRACT

Drug resistant epilepsy remains a major clinical challenge. Diverse criteria have been used to defi ne drug resistance by different researchers, making it diffi cult or even impossible to compare the results across different studies. To improve patient care and facilitate clinical research, the International League Against Epilepsy recently proposed a consensus defi nition to defi ne drug resistant epilepsy as failure of adequate trials of two tolerated, appropriately chosen and used antiepileptic drug schedules (whether as monotherapies or in combination) to achieve sustained seizure freedom. This article outlines the framework of the consensus defi nition, explains how to apply it in practice, and discusses the future development in its use.