Abstracts

Rationale: People with epilepsy are generally restricted from driving because of the concern over seizure-related motor vehicle accidents while driving. There are only few studies concerning factors associated with poor compliance with driving regulations in patients with epilepsy. We investigated the characteristics associated with driving in people with epilepsy and aimed to identify factors associated with driving in those patients with uncontrolled seizures. Methods: Survey was conducted to patients being treated for epilepsy in four university hospitals in Korea. Men and women were recruited with a ratio of approximately 2:1 because men are more likely to drive than women in Korea. Questions were asked by a doctor to each patient attending outpatient clinic. The interview was designed to collect their socio-demographic data and epilepsy-related data (age at seizure onset, seizure duration, seizure types and frequency, number of antiepileptic drugs taken). There were also driving related questions (possession of driving license, driving status during the last year, driving frequency, driving hours/day, cause of driving, any experience of accident). Results: Of 290 patients with epilepsy interviewed, 58% had a driver's license and 40% had driven during the last year. Among those with uncontrolled seizures, 54% reported to held a driving license and 36% had driven a car in the past year. Five percent of the total participants reported having experienced at least one or more seizure-related accidents while driving, and it was more reported by those with uncontrolled seizures compared to those with controlled seizure (7.3% vs 1.8%, p = 0.02). In a multivariable analysis, being male (OR = 0.289, p = 0.02), being married (OR = 4.325, p = 0.002), being employed (OR = 3.328, p = 0.005), and taking fewer antiepileptic drugs (OR = 3.328, p = 0.05) were the four factors associated with increased likelihood of driving in patients with uncontrolled seizures. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that a significant number of people with uncontrolled seizures, those who should not be driving, continue to drive and that being male, married, employed, and taking few antiepileptic drugs were the major reasons for these individuals to continue to do so.