In a community-based cohort, researchers evaluated the contribution of epilepsy-related risk factors to injuries. This investigation was conducted on patients recruited into the Tasmanian Epilepsy Register (TER) from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2002. Eight hundred nineteen patients with epilepsy were incorporated in this retrospective nested case-control study.
Regardless of seizure frequency, impaired awareness, cluster seizures, sleep-only seizures, and convulsive seizure were characteristics found to significantly influence injuries. Seizures expose patients with epilepsy to a high risk of life-threatening injury, probably because of their unpredictable nature. These findings underline the importance of seizure freedom in order to maximize the safety of epilepsy patients.