Seizure-free days observed in randomized placebo-controlled add-on trials with levetiracetam in partial epilepsy.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the effect of adjunctive levetiracetam (LEV; 1,000 to 3,000 mg/day) on the number of seizure-free days gained per quarter in adult patients with refractory partial-onset epilepsy.


METHODS
The treatment effect was studied in a meta-analysis using individual patient data of a subpopulation of patients (n = 846) emerging from the three randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III trials (n = 904).


RESULTS
Adding LEV effectively increased the number of days without seizures by 5.19 days per quarter [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.63-6.76; p = 0.0001; titration and stable dose periods].


CONCLUSIONS
LEV adjunctive treatment shows a clear benefit in terms of seizure-free days gained for patients with refractory epilepsy. This gain is significant for the pooled and for each LEV dose compared with placebo.
D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010889:Piracetam / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012640:Seizures / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology
D000077287:Levetiracetam; D010889:Piracetam