Please cite this article in press as: Téllez-Zenteno, J.F., et al., Discontinuation of antiepileptic drugs after successful epilepsy surgery. A Canadian survey. Epilepsy Res. (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2012.04.018 ARTICLE IN PRESS +Model EPIRES-4763; No. of Pages 11 Epilepsy Research (2012) xxx, xxx—xxx jou rn al h om epa ge: www.elsevier.com/locate/epilepsyres Discontinuation of antiepileptic drugs after successful epilepsy surgery. A Canadian survey José F. Téllez-Zenteno a,* , Lizbeth Hernández Ronquillo a , Nathalie Jette b , Jorge G. Burneo c , Dang Khoa Nguyen d , Elizabeth J. Donner e , Mark Sadler f , Mano Javidan M g , Donald W. Gross h , Samuel Wiebe b , Canadian Epilepsy Surgery Study Group 1 a Department of Medicine-Division of Neurology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada b Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada c Epilepsy Programme and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada d Service de Neurologie, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal — Hôpital Notre-Dame, Montréal, Québec, Canada e The Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada f Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada g Neurophysiology Department and the Epilepsy Program, Vancouver General Hospital, Division of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada h Division of Neurology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Received 30 January 2012; received in revised form 11 April 2012; accepted 21 April 2012 KEYWORDS Antiepileptic drugs; Epilepsy surgery; Surgical outcomes; Survey Summary Introduction: To identify the perceived practice among Canadian epileptologists regarding dis- continuation of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) following successful resective surgery for temporal and extratemporal surgery. Methods: We performed a survey of pediatric and adult epileptologists in Canada, using a 77- item questionnaire to explore attitudes, timing, rate of withdrawal, and factors contributing to the decision to withdraw AEDs after successful epilepsy surgery. Surveys were mailed with a postage-paid return envelope. Two subsequent surveys were mailed to non-respondents at 15 days intervals. All procedures received institutional review board approval. Results: Surveys were sent to 82 epileptologists in all the Canadian provinces. Sixty-six physi- cians answered the survey (80.5%), representing all epilepsy centers across Canada. The minimum seizure free period required after epilepsy surgery before withdrawing AEDs, var- ied substantially among responders: <6 months in 10%, 6—11 months in 21%, >1 year in 50%, >2 years in 12%, >2 years in 3% after. The most important factors influencing the decision to withdraw AEDs a negative EEG before discontinuation (71%), patients’ preferences (78%) and * Corresponding author at: Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0W8 Canada. Tel.: +1 306 966 8011; fax: +1 306 966 8008. E-mail address: jft084@mail.usask.ca (J.F. Téllez-Zenteno). 1 See Appendix A for Canadian Epilepsy Surgery Study Group. 0920-1211/$ — see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2012.04.018