Refractory epilepsy: clinical features
Written and reviewed by Dr Ibrahim Imam, Consultant Neurologist. Last reviewed .
Refractory epilepsy: clinical features. Failure of 2 antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) at tolerated doses. Fully referenced neurology checklist.
Diagnostic criteria
- Failure of 2 antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) at tolerated doses
- The epilepsy is uncontrolled for 2 years
- Ultra-refractory epilepsy is the failure of six treatment strategies
Exclusion criteria
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Associated features
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Synonyms
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References
- Beleza P. Refractory epilepsy: a clinically oriented review. Eur Neurol 2009; 62:65-71.
- Vinklárek J, Búřilová P, Raouf Zadeh M, et al. Ultra-refractory epilepsy: the newly described entity. Epilepsia Open 2026; 11:220-229.
- Krauss GL, Sperling MR. Treating patients with medically resistant epilepsy. Neurol Clin Pract 2011; 1:14-23.
- Gilliam F. Optimizing health outcomes in active epilepsy. Neurology 2002; 58(8 Suppl 5):S9-S20.
- Schmidt D. The clinical impact of new antiepileptic drugs after a decade of use in epilepsy. Epilepsy Res 2002; 50:21-32.
