• Andrew M Naidech, Jennifer Beaumont, Babak Jahromi, Shyam Prabhakaran, Abel Kho, and Jane L Holl.
• From the Departments of Neurology (A.M.N., S.P.), Medical Social Sciences (J.B.), and Neurological Surgery (B.J.), and the Institute for Public Health and Medicine (A.K., J.L.H.), Center for Healthcare Studies, Northwestern Medicine, Chicago, IL. a-naidech@northwestern.edu.
• Neurology. 2017 Jan 3; 88 (1): 52-56.

ObjectiveProphylactic medications can be a source of preventable harm, potentially affecting large numbers of patients. Few data exist about how clinicians change prescribing practices in response to new data and revisions to guidelines about preventable harm from a prophylactic medication. We sought to determine the changes in prescribing practice of seizure medications for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) across a metropolitan area before and after new outcomes data and revised prescribing guidelines were published.MethodsWe conducted an observational study using electronic medical record data from 4 academic medical centers in a large US metropolitan area.ResultsA total of 3,422 patients with ICH, diagnosed between 2007 and 2012, were included. In 2009, after a publication found an association of phenytoin with higher odds of dependence or death, the use of phenytoin declined from 9.6% in 2009 to 2.2% in 2012 (p < 0.00001). Conversely, the use of levetiracetam more than doubled, from 15.1% in 2007 to 35% in 2012 (p < 0.00001). Use of levetiracetam varied among the 4 institutions from 6.7% to 29.8% (p < 0.00001).ConclusionsNew data that led to revised prescribing guidelines for prophylactic seizure medications for patients with ICH were temporally associated with a significant decrease in use of the medication, potentially reducing adverse outcomes. However, a corresponding increase in the use of an alternative medication, levetiracetam, occurred despite limited knowledge about its potential effects on outcomes. Future guideline changes should anticipate and address alternatives.© 2016 American Academy of Neurology.

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