Diazepam versus clobazam for intermittent prophylaxis of febrile seizures.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the effectiveness of intermittent clobazam versus diazepam therapy in preventing the recurrence of febrile seizures and assess adverse effects of each drug.


METHODS
This prospective randomized controlled trial was performed on neurologically normal children aged from 6 months to 5 years with a history of simple febrile seizures and normal electroencephalogram without any evidence of acute central nervous system infection. The patients were randomly prescribed with oral clobazam (37 cases) or diazepam (35 cases) when they developed a febrile disease. They were advised to use the medications during the first 48 h of the onset of fever. All the patients were monitored regarding developing seizure and adverse effects of the drugs. All patients were followed for 12 months.


RESULTS
Overall, 243 episodes of fever occurred during the period, including 116 episodes in the clobazam group and 127 episodes in the diazepam group. Recurrence of seizures occurred in 2 (1.7%) subjects in the clobazam group, and in 4(3.1%) cases in the diazepam group. (P value=0.474). Twenty cases (54%) in the diazepam group and 5 (14.2%) cases in the clobazam group developed drowsiness and sedation during the follow-up period (P value=0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
Intermittent clobazam therapy seems advantageous to diazepam due to similar efficacy but significantly lower adverse effects such as drowsiness and sedation.
Khosroshahi
Nahid
N
Division of neurology, Department of pediatrics, Bahrami Children Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Nahidkhosroshahi@yahoo.com
Faramarzi
Fatemeh
F
Salamati
Payman
P
Haghighi
Seeid Mohammad Ogaghi
SM
Kamrani
Kamyar
K
D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000078306:Clobazam; D003975:Diazepam / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000517:prevention & control*
D000927:Anticonvulsants; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D000078306:Clobazam; D003975:Diazepam