title: Short-term effect of levetiracetam monotherapy on haematological parameters in children with epilepsy: a prospective study.
abstract: Studies evaluating the effect of levetiracetam (LEV) on haematological parameters in patients with epilepsy are very limited. Clinical trials have also reported an unexplained increased incidence of pharyngitis and rhinitis in LEV-treated patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate prospectively the changes in haematological parameters in children treated with LEV monotherapy. White blood cell, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, haemoglobin, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and platelets were measured in 22 children (13 females, mean age 6.70±4.23 years) with epilepsy, before and after 2 and 6 months of LEV monotherapy. Lymphocyte count was significantly decreased at 6 months (p=0.019) of treatment and this effect was not dose dependent. One child (4.5%) at 2 months and four children (18%) at 6 months of treatment had lymphocyte count below 10th percentile for age. There were no significant alterations in the other parameters evaluated during the study. LEV monotherapy may significantly decrease lymphocyte count at six months of treatment in children with epilepsy. Further prospective studies are needed to investigate the effect of LEV on haematological parameters and the possible association with the higher incidence of infections reported in children receiving LEV.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, "Attikon" Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Argiris
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dinopoulos
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, "Attikon" Hospital, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: attilakos@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Achilleas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Attilakos
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, "Attikon" Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paschalidou
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, "Attikon" Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsirouda
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, "Panagiotis and Aglaia Kyriakou" Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garoufi
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, "Attikon" Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moustaki
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, University of Athens, "Attikon" Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Siafakas
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, "Attikon" Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Vassiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Papaevangelou
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D008297:Male; D010889:Piracetam / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D010889:Piracetam
keywords: Children; Epilepsy; Haematological parameters; Levetiracetam; Lymphocytes