{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]],"date-time":"2026-05-09T14:13:25Z","timestamp":1778336005603,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences","issue":"7","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pak J Med Sci"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: This study aimed to investigate neurologists\u2019 perceptions and practices regarding generic antiepileptic medications (AEDs) in the management of epilepsy, and whether generic AEDs can be used as a satisfactory, effective, and safe substitute for brand-name medications in targeted patients.\r\nMethods: This questionnaire based cross-sectional study was performed in the Department of Medicine (Neurology Division), College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 2022 to July 2024. One hundred thirty neuro physicians participated, and 114 completed the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 87.7%. The participants consisted of 63.2% males and 36.8% females. The questions were based on a 3-point Likert scale.\r\nResults: The results revealed that all four components were strongly and positively correlated with each other: the \u2018Patient Miscontrol with Generic AEDs\u2019 component had a statistically significant strong positive correlation with \u2018concern About Generic AEDs\u2019 component, r(114) = 0.654, p &lt; 0.0005; with \u2018Aversion to Generic AEDs\u2019 component, r(114) = 0.525, p &lt; 0.0005; and \u2018Withholding Generic AEDs\u2019 component, r(114) = 0.595, p &lt; 0.0005. \u2018Concern About Generic AEDs\u2019 component had a statistically significant strong positive correlation with the \u2018Aversion to Generic AEDs\u2019 component, r (114) = 0.538, p &lt; 0.0005; and the \u2018Withholding Generic AEDs\u2019 component, r (114) = 0.459, p &lt; 0.0005. Finally, the \u2018Aversion to Generic AEDs\u2019 component showed a statistically significant positive correlation with the \u2018Withholding Generic AEDs\u2019 component, r (114) = 0.435, p &lt; 0.0005. Spearman correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between years of experience and \u2018Withholding Generic AEDs;\u2019 r (114) = 0.243, p = 0.009. The post hoc analysis revealed statistically significant differences between the low-experienced \u2018&lt; 5 years\u2019 (66.50) and the high-experienced \u2018&gt; 10 years\u2019 (100.00) groups (p = 0.014).\r\nConclusions: Half of the neurologists participating in the study are concerned about substituting brand-name antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) with generic ones. Neurologists had mixed perceptions regarding the use of generic AEDs for cost-saving purposes and the safety of substituting brand-name medications with generics. We encourage reporting every incident of seizure in patients on generic AEDs\r\ndoi: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12669\/pjms.41.7.11981\r\nHow to cite this: Aljafen BN, Alqahtani RN, Algarni RS, Elmutawi H, Bahr MH. Neurologists\u2019 insights and practices on generic antiepileptic medications in epilepsy management: A Saudi Arabian perspective. Pak J Med Sci. 2025;41(7):1930-1936.\u00a0 doi: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12669\/pjms.41.7.11981\r\nThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.12669\/pjms.41.7.11981","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,2]],"date-time":"2025-07-02T18:46:37Z","timestamp":1751481997000},"page":"1930-1936","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Neurologists\u2019 insights and practices on generic antiepileptic medications in epilepsy management: A Saudi Arabian perspective"],"prefix":"10.12669","volume":"41","author":[{"given":"Bandar","family":"Aljafen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"family":"Reem Nafel Alqahtani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"family":"Reem Saeed Algarni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"family":"Hend Elmutawi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"family":"Mohamed Hamdy Bahr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"4935","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,1]]},"container-title":["Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pjms.org.pk\/index.php\/pjms\/article\/download\/11981\/2854","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pjms.org.pk\/index.php\/pjms\/article\/download\/11981\/2854","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]],"date-time":"2026-05-09T13:51:51Z","timestamp":1778334711000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pjms.org.pk\/index.php\/pjms\/article\/view\/11981"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,1]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,30]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12669\/pjms.41.7.11981","relation":{},"ISSN":["1681-715X","1682-024X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1681-715X","type":"electronic"},{"value":"1682-024X","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,1]]}}}