title: Oxcarbazepine monotherapy in children and adolescents: a single-center clinical experience.
abstract: This single-center analysis evaluated the efficacy of oxcarbazepine monotherapy in children and adolescents. A retrospective chart review identified 60 patients (male=33, female=27) aged 6 months to 17.8 years (mean age 8.2+/-4.7 years) with partial onset epilepsy receiving oxcarbazepine monotherapy. The range of oxcarbazepine dose was 6-71 mg/kg/day (mean 26.3+/-11.4 mg/kg/day). The duration of therapy ranged from 3 months to 8 years (mean duration 16.7+/-14.3 months). Fifty-one patients (85%) achieved>or=50% reduction in seizure frequency, and 25 of 60 patients (42%) achieved seizure freedom. Ten patients (16.67%) reported adverse events including drowsiness, aggressive behavior, ataxia, dizziness, diplopia, and leg cramps. No hyponatremia or skin rash was observed. Twenty-four patients were switched from carbamazepine to oxcarbazepine monotherapy. In these patients carbamazepine was discontinued because of incidence of adverse events, poor seizure control, or both. Seventy-nine percent of patients switched from carbamazepine to oxcarbazepine monotherapy had >or=50% reduction in seizure frequency, and 37.5% became seizure-free. These findings suggest that oxcarbazepine monotherapy is effective and well tolerated in children and adolescents with partial epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19134-1095, USA. Sanjeev.kothare@drexelmed.edu
authors.forename: Sanjeev V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kothare
authors.forename: Divya S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Khurana
authors.forename: Navid
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mostofi
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Melvin
authors.forename: Harold G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.forename: Agustin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Legido
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D000078330:Oxcarbazepine; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D002220:Carbamazepine; D000078330:Oxcarbazepine