ASSESSMENT OF THE EPILEPSY TREATMENT GAP IN TWO CITIES OF SOUTH-EAST OF BRAZIL

ABSTRACT- Objective: To assess the epilepsy treatment gap in Campinas and São José do Rio Preto, two cities in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Method: The treatment gap was estimated using the formula n1-n2/n1x100, where n1 was calculated using 1.86 % prevalence and represented the number of individuals with epilepsy, while n2 represented the number of people who could be treated with an adult standard dose for a year utilizing the antiepileptic drugs supplied by the public health system. Results: Our esti-mates revealed that in 2001, approximately 50 % of the population with epilepsy was treated with the rec-ommended antiepileptic medication. Conclusion: These results suggest that a relevant percentage of patients with epilepsy are not untreated. Further epidemiological studies are needed to investigate the reasons for this treatment gap so that interventions can reduce this gap and improve the quality of life of patients with epilepsy. KEY WORDS: epilepsy, treatment, treatment gap, antiepileptic drugs, stigma. A lacuna de tratamento em epilepsia em duas cidades do sudeste do Brasil RESUMO- Objetivo: Estimar a lacuna de tratamento em epilepsia nas cidades de Campinas e São José do Rio Preto, interior do Estado de São Paulo. Método: Estimamos a lacuna de tratamento através da fór-mula n1-n2/n1x100, onde se utiliza o número de pessoas com epilepsia, calculado pela prevalência (n1),