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What is Phenytoin?

Phenytoin is an antiarrhythmic and anticonvulsant agent that is used for the management of generalized tonic-clonic (grand mal), complex partial seizures; and for the prevention of seizures following head trauma/neurosurgery. Off label it is used for neuropathic pain.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose # of patients
# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
Major
Moderate
Slight
None
Can’t tell
Epilepsy 392 130 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
Seizures (grand mal or tonic-clonic) 37 15 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
Seizures 22 8 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_cant_tell
Other 11 2 Efficacy_major
Seizures (complex partial) 4 0
Stiffness/Spasticity 3 0

See all 285 patients currently taking Phenytoin

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Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe
 42
Moderate
 42
Mild
 37
None
 34

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Phenytoin

Drowsiness 12
Bleeding gums 12
Sleepiness 7
Gingivitis (gum disease) 7
Dizziness 7
Depressed mood 7
See all 136 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲

Reported Dosages

Frequently reported dosages based on patients currently taking Phenytoin. See all 34 dosages ►

  50 mg daily 100 mg daily 200 mg daily 300 mg daily 400 mg daily 500 mg daily 600 mg daily 700 mg daily 800 mg daily 900 mg daily
  3 Number of Patients: 3 19 Number of Patients: 19 28 Number of Patients: 28 83 Number of Patients: 83 77 Number of Patients: 77 34 Number of Patients: 34 23 Number of Patients: 23 6 Number of Patients: 6 6 Number of Patients: 6 3 Number of Patients: 3  

Reported Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Phenytoin (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason # Patients Percentage of patients
Doctor's advice 98   Doctor's advice: 40%
Side effects too severe 89   Side effects too severe: 36%
Did not seem to work 88   Did not seem to work: 36%
Other 39   Other: 16%
Course of treatment ended 14   Course of treatment ended: 6%
Not indicated 6   Not indicated: 2%
Personal research 4   Personal research: 2%
Expense 4   Expense: 2%
Change in health plan coverage 4   Change in health plan coverage: 2%

See all 236 patients who’ve stopped taking Phenytoin

Reported Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼

Currently Taking Phenytoin

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more

Stopped Taking Phenytoin

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Phenytoin

Always
 129 83%
Usually
 22 14%
Sometimes
 1 1%
Never
 3 2%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Phenytoin

Very
 16 10%
Somewhat
 19 12%
A little
 27 17%
Not at all
 93 60%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Phenytoin

$200+
 0 0%
$100-199
 1 1%
$50-99
 7 7%
$25-49
 31 30%
< $25
 64 62%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Report created on May 23, 2012.