فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Epilepsy is a prevalent chronic neurological disorder in children, often requiring long term antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy. These medications can have cardiovascular side effects, including the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Such effects have been reported to impact the thickness of the carotid intima-media and the ejection fraction of the heart. This study aims to compare the carotid artery intima-media thickness and ejection fraction in children with epilepsy undergoing monotherapy versus polytherapy. This cross-sectional study collected primary data from pediatric epilepsy patients at the Child Neurology Outpatient and Inpatient Installation, Department of Pediatrics, RSUD Dr. Soetomo Surabaya, from June to August 2023. Patients who met the inclusion criteria and consented to participate were included through consecutive sampling. Data analysis was performed using the paired t-test, and data processing was conducted using SPSS. The study included 30 patients, predominantly male (53.3%). The mean age was 9.33 ± 5 years in the monotherapy group and 7.29 ± 4.59 years in the polytherapy group. In the polytherapy group, the mean carotid intima-media thickness was 0.073 ± 0.13 cm, compared to 0.06 ± 0.08 cm in the monotherapy group. The mean ejection fraction was 58 ± 1.76% in the polytherapy group and 71.05 ± 3.9% in the monotherapy group. The comparison of carotid intima-media thickness showed no significant difference (p > 0.05), while the ejection fraction comparison was significantly different (p < 0.05). Polytherapy in pediatric epilepsy is associated with a significantly lower ejection fraction, indicating potential cardiovascular risks, while differences in carotid intima-media thickness were not statistically significant.