Abstract

Background: epilepsy is prevalent neurological disorder in Saudi Arabia and listed as temporary or permanent driving interdiction. In line with other countries rules and requirements, would be safer, for the patient and community, if the seizures are controlled (Seizure free remission) for about 12 months prior to granting unlimitSed driving license. Objective: to evaluate the eligibility of male epileptic patients aging more than 18 years old to drive cars based on achieving one year seizure free remission in a statistically representative sample for Saudi population. Subjects and methods: a cross sectional study design in which eligible patients attending hospitals in Saudi Arabia were requested to take part in a survey about their driving status. Sample size was calculated assuming that one-year seizure free remission of 80% based on literature review, with a precision of ± 5.9%. A sample size of 170 individuals was sufficient to perform 2-tailed test with 95% confidence level. Results: 170 consenting patients participated in the survey. The mean age was 38.7 (range 18-90 years). Seizure types encountered were generalized tonic-clonic seizure 98 patients (57.6%), Absence 27 patients (15.9%), unclassified 26 patients (15.3%) and clonic 14 patients (8.2%). The dominant underlying etiology was idiopathic in 90.6%. Despite that only 106 patients (62.4%) achieved one year seizure free remission, 161 patients (94.7%) hold a valid driving license and 146 patients (85.9%) are currently driving. 35 patients (20.6%) reported experiencing seizure while driving and 46 patients (27.1%) received advices from healthcare professionals regarding driving. Conclusion: Among our study population, relatively lower control of epilepsy was observed with increased risk of seizures during driving that may lead to serious consequences. Health education regarding driving especially for uncontrolled patients is a key area for improvement till achieving higher seizure remission rate.

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