Effectiveness analysis of three-drug combination therapies for refractory focal epilepsy

Selecting appropriate antiseizure medications (ASMs) for combination therapy in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) is a complex task that requires an empirical approach, especially in patients receiving polytherapy. We aimed to analyze the effectiveness of various three-drug combinations in a group of patients with DRE under real-world conditions. This single-center, longitudinal observational study investigated patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy who received three-drug regimens in the outpatient clinic of Tongji Hospital from September 2019 to December 2022. The effectiveness of each triple regimen was evaluated by the seizure-free rate and within-patient ratio of the seizure frequency (a seizure frequency ratio [SFR]<1 indicated superior efficacy). The independent t-test or Mann–Whitney U test was used for effectiveness analysis, and P values were adjusted by the Benjamini–Hochberg method for multiple comparisons. A total of 511 triple trials comprising 76 different regimens were conducted among 323 enrolled patients. Among these triple regimens, lamotrigine (LTG)/valproic acid (VPA)/topiramate (TPM) was the most frequently prescribed (29.4%, n ​= ​95). At the last clinical visit, 14.9% (n ​= ​48) of patients achieved seizure freedom after receiving triple therapy. LTG/VPA/TPM and LTG/VPA/levetiracetam (LEV) exhibited the highest seizure-free rates at 17.9% and 12.8%, respectively. These two regimens also had significantly lower median SFRs of 0.48 (interquartile range [IQR], 0.17–0.85; adjusted P ​< ​0.001) and 0.63 (IQR, 0.21–1.04; adjusted P ​< ​0.01), respectively. LTG/VPA/perampanel (PER) was another promising regimen that showed marginal effectiveness (median SFR ​= ​0.67; adjusted P ​= ​0.053). LTG/VPA/phenobarbital had the highest incidence of regimen-specific side effects (40.0%, 4/10), while the incidence of side effects from LTG/VPA/LEV was minimal (5.1%, 2/39). In conclusion, LTG/VPA/TPM and LTG/VPA/LEV exhibited superior efficacy and good tolerability in treating patients with DRE. Our results provide preliminary insights into the selection of ASMs for three-drug combination therapies in this clinically challenging population.