Risk of Seizure Aggravation after COVID-19 Vaccinations in Patients with Epilepsy

Abstract

Although Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations are generally recommended for persons with epilepsy (PwE), a significant vaccination gap remains due to patient concerns over the risk of post-vaccination seizure aggravation (PVSA). In this single-centre, retrospective cohort study, we aimed to determine the early (7-day) and delayed (30-day) risk of PVSA, and to identify clinical predictors of PVSA among PwE. Adult epilepsy patients aged ≥18 years without a history of COVID-19 infection were recruited from a specialty epilepsy clinic in early 2022. Demographic, epilepsy characteristics, and vaccination data were extracted from a centralized electronic patient record. Seizure frequency before and after vaccination, vaccination-related adverse effects, and reasons for or against vaccination were obtained by a structured questionnaire. A total of 786 PwEs were included, of which 27.0% were drug-resistant. At the time of recruitment, 74.6% had at least 1 dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Subjects with higher seizure frequency (p < 0.0005), on more anti-seizure medications (p = 0.004), or had drug-resistant epilepsy (p = 0.001) were less likely to be vaccinated. No significant increase in seizure frequency was observed in the early (7 days) and delayed phases (30 days) after vaccination in our cohort. On the contrary, there was an overall significant reduction in seizure frequency 30 days after vaccination (1.31 vs. 1.89, t = 3.436; p = 0.001). This difference was seen in both types of vaccine (BNT162b2 and CoronaVac) and drug-resistant epilepsy, but just missed significance for the second dose (1.13 vs. 1.87, t = 1.921; p = 0.055). Only 5.3% had PVSA after either dose of vaccine. Higher pre-vaccination seizure frequency of ≥1 per week (OR 3.01, 95% CI 1.05-8.62; p = 0.04) and drug-resistant status (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.45-249 7.61; p = 0.005) were predictive of PVSA. Meanwhile, seizure freedom for 3 months before vaccination was independently associated with a lower risk of PVSA (OR 0.11, 95% CI 0.04-0.28; p < 0.0005). This may guide epilepsy treatment strategies to achieve better seizure control for at least 3 months prior to vaccination. As COVID-19 shifts to an endemic phase, this study provides important data demonstrating the overall safety of COVID-19 vaccinations among PwE. Identification of high-risk patients with subsequent individualized approaches in treatment and monitoring strategies may alleviate vaccination hesitancy among PwE.

Keywords: COVID-19 infection; COVID-19 vaccine; epilepsy; neurological adverse effects; seizure; vaccination gap.

Figure 1

Cues for and against COVID-19 vaccination.