Epilepsy in an Italian community as assessed by a survey for prescriptions of antiepileptic drugs: epidemiology and patterns of care.

The prescriptions of antiepileptic drugs in the years 1985 and 1986 were used to identify all possible cases of epilepsy in a population of about 50,000 people. The general practitioners of the study area filled out a questionnaire for each user of antiepileptic drugs registered as a patient of theirs. This information was integrated using data obtained by local specialist services or directly collected by visits and/or phone interviews.