IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) IN EPILEPTIC PATIENTS ON TREATMENT WITH LEVETIRACETAM AND BRIVARACETAM - A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: Focal seizures are a common form of epilepsy that can adversely affect physical, psychological, cognitive,and social well-being. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is therefore an important patient-centered outcome whenassessing antiseizure therapy. This study compared improvement in HRQOL among patients with focal seizures receivinglevetiracetam and brivaracetam. Materials and Methods: An open-label, prospective, observational comparative study wasconducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Chennai. A total of 100 patients aged 18–70 years with focal seizures wereincluded and divided equally into two groups. Group A received levetiracetam 500 mg twice daily, while Group B receivedbrivaracetam 50 mg twice daily. Participants were followed for 90 days. HRQOL was assessed at baseline and Day 90 usinga semi-structured questionnaire covering physical, psychological, cognitive, occupational, and socioeconomic domains. Datawere analyzed using SPSS version 26, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: Baseline HRQOL scoreswere comparable between the levetiracetam and brivaracetam groups (20.46 ± 6.08 vs. 19.54 ± 5.20; p = 0.418). At Day 90,HRQOL scores increased in both groups and were significantly higher in the brivaracetam group than in the levetiracetamgroup (44.12 ± 6.79 vs. 40.52 ± 6.31; p = 0.008). The mean improvement from baseline to Day 90 was also significantlygreater with brivaracetam (24.58 ± 5.85) than with levetiracetam (20.06 ± 6.20; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Both treatmentsimproved HRQOL, with brivaracetam demonstrating greater improvement over 90 days.