tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Neurol Sci
. 2022 May 2.
doi: 10.1007/s10072-022-06100-0. Online ahead of print.
Impact of COVID-19 vaccine on epilepsy in adult subjects: an Italian multicentric experience
Marina Romozzi[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Eleonora Rollo[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Paolo Quintieri[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fedele Dono[SUP] 3 4 [/SUP], Giacomo Evangelista[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Stefano Consoli[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Luigi Veleno[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Francesca Anzellotti[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Carmen Calvello[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Cinzia Costa[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Serenella Servidei[SUP] 1 7 [/SUP], Paolo Calabresi[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Catello Vollono[SUP] 1 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the safety and tolerability of COVID-19 vaccines in people with epilepsy (PwE).
Methods: In this multicentric observational cohort study, we recruited adult patients (age > 18 years old) with epilepsy who attended the Outpatient Epilepsy Clinic from 1st July to 30th October 2021. We administered to the patients a structured questionnaire and interview on demographic and epilepsy characteristics, current treatment, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccine characteristics, post-vaccine seizure relapse, other side effect, variation of sleep habits, caffeine, or alcohol intake. Seizure frequency worsening was defined as a ratio between mean monthly frequency post-vaccination and mean monthly frequency pre-vaccination superior to 1. Patients were categorized in two groups: patients with seizure frequency worsening (WORSE) and patients with seizure stability (STABLE).
Results: A total of 358 people participated with a mean age of 47.46 ± 19.04. Focal seizure (79.1%), generalized epilepsy (20.4%), and unknown types of epilepsy (0.5%) were detected among participants. In total, 31 (8.7%) people expressed that they were not willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine; 302 patients (92.35%) did not experience an increase in the seizure frequency (STABLE-group) whereas 25 patients (7.65%) had a seizure worsening (WORSE-group). Post-vaccine seizures occurred mainly in the 7 days following the administration of the vaccine. Patients in the WORSE-group were treated with a mean higher number of anti-seizure medication (ASMs) (p = 0.003) and had a higher pre-vaccine seizure frequency (p = 0.009) compared with patients in the STABLE-group. Drug-resistant epilepsy was also associated with seizure worsening (p = 0.01). One-year pre-vaccination seizure frequency pattern demonstrated that patients in the WORSE-group had a higher frequency pattern (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis of the vaccinated group showed that only the seizure frequency pattern (confidence interval [CI] = 1.257-2.028; p < 0.001) was significantly associated with seizure worsening.
Conclusion: In our cohort of vaccinated PwE, only a little percentage had a transient short-term increase of seizure frequency. The present study demonstrates that COVID-19 vaccines have a good safety and tolerability profile in the short term in PwE.
Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Epilepsy; Seizures; Vaccine.
. 2022 May 2.
doi: 10.1007/s10072-022-06100-0. Online ahead of print.
Impact of COVID-19 vaccine on epilepsy in adult subjects: an Italian multicentric experience
Marina Romozzi[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Eleonora Rollo[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Paolo Quintieri[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fedele Dono[SUP] 3 4 [/SUP], Giacomo Evangelista[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Stefano Consoli[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Luigi Veleno[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Francesca Anzellotti[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Carmen Calvello[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Cinzia Costa[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Serenella Servidei[SUP] 1 7 [/SUP], Paolo Calabresi[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Catello Vollono[SUP] 1 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35501537
- DOI: 10.1007/s10072-022-06100-0
Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the safety and tolerability of COVID-19 vaccines in people with epilepsy (PwE).
Methods: In this multicentric observational cohort study, we recruited adult patients (age > 18 years old) with epilepsy who attended the Outpatient Epilepsy Clinic from 1st July to 30th October 2021. We administered to the patients a structured questionnaire and interview on demographic and epilepsy characteristics, current treatment, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccine characteristics, post-vaccine seizure relapse, other side effect, variation of sleep habits, caffeine, or alcohol intake. Seizure frequency worsening was defined as a ratio between mean monthly frequency post-vaccination and mean monthly frequency pre-vaccination superior to 1. Patients were categorized in two groups: patients with seizure frequency worsening (WORSE) and patients with seizure stability (STABLE).
Results: A total of 358 people participated with a mean age of 47.46 ± 19.04. Focal seizure (79.1%), generalized epilepsy (20.4%), and unknown types of epilepsy (0.5%) were detected among participants. In total, 31 (8.7%) people expressed that they were not willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine; 302 patients (92.35%) did not experience an increase in the seizure frequency (STABLE-group) whereas 25 patients (7.65%) had a seizure worsening (WORSE-group). Post-vaccine seizures occurred mainly in the 7 days following the administration of the vaccine. Patients in the WORSE-group were treated with a mean higher number of anti-seizure medication (ASMs) (p = 0.003) and had a higher pre-vaccine seizure frequency (p = 0.009) compared with patients in the STABLE-group. Drug-resistant epilepsy was also associated with seizure worsening (p = 0.01). One-year pre-vaccination seizure frequency pattern demonstrated that patients in the WORSE-group had a higher frequency pattern (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis of the vaccinated group showed that only the seizure frequency pattern (confidence interval [CI] = 1.257-2.028; p < 0.001) was significantly associated with seizure worsening.
Conclusion: In our cohort of vaccinated PwE, only a little percentage had a transient short-term increase of seizure frequency. The present study demonstrates that COVID-19 vaccines have a good safety and tolerability profile in the short term in PwE.
Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Epilepsy; Seizures; Vaccine.