title: Levetiracetam in the Treatment of Epileptic Seizures After Liver Transplantation.
abstract: After liver transplantation, patients may develop seizures or epilepsy due to a variety of etiologies. The ideal antiepileptic drugs for these patients are those with fewer drug interactions and less hepatic toxicity. In this study, we present patients using levetiracetam to control seizures after liver transplantation. We retrospectively enrolled patients who received levetiracetam for seizure control after liver transplantation. We analyzed the etiology of liver failure that required liver transplantation, etiology of the seizures, outcomes of seizure control, and the condition of the patient after follow-up at the outpatient department. Hematological and biochemical data before and after the use of levetiracetam were also collected. Fifteen patients who received intravenous or oral levetiracetam monotherapy for seizure control after liver transplantation were enrolled into this study. All of the patients remained seizure-free during levetiracetam treatment. Two patients died during the follow-up, and the other 13 patients were alive at the end of the study period and all were seizure-free without neurological sequelae that interfered with their daily activities. No patients experienced liver failure or rejection of the donor liver due to ineffective immunosuppressant medications. The dosage of immunosuppressants did not change before and after levetiracetam treatment, and there were no changes in hematological and biochemical data before and after treatment. Levetiracetam may be a suitable antiepileptic drug for patients who undergo liver transplantation due to fewer drug interactions and a favorable safety profile.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology (C-HL, T-KL, N-CC, M-HT, Y-CC); Liver Transplantation Program and Department of Surgery (C-LC); Center for Translational Research in Biomedical Sciences, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine (C-LC, Y-CC); Department of Biological Science, National Sun Yet-sen University (Y-CC); and Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Y-CC).
authors.forename: Chih-Hsiang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chao-Long
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Tsu-Kung
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Nai-Ching
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Meng-Han
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Yao-Chung
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chuang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D058625:End Stage Liver Disease / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010889:Piracetam / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012640:Seizures / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D013624:Taiwan; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D010889:Piracetam