Continuation rates of levetiracetam in children from the EULEVp cohort study

BackgroundSince indication extension to children data regarding the effectiveness of levetiracetam in paediatric patients remains limited.AimsInvestigate the real-life effectiveness of levetiracetam in paediatric patients.MethodsEpileptic children (<16 years) who had initiated levetiracetam between the 1 October 2006 and the 31 March 2007 were included and followed for 1 year by hospital or non-hospital neurologists practising in France.ResultsAmong the 156 identified children, 147 were analysed: 51.7% were female, and mean (SD) age was 9.2 years (4.2). Most patients had either partial symptomatic (30.6%) or partial cryptogenic (26.5%) epilepsy, 92.5% experienced seizures during the 6 months preceding levetiracetam initiation, and 19.2% were on levetiracetam alone at initiation. One-year levetiracetam continuation rate was estimated to be 72.0% (95%CI [63.8; 78.6]). Of the 104 children continuing levetiracetam treatment at end of study, 31.7% were seizure-free during the last six months of follow-up, and 23.1% on levetiracetam alone. Discontinuation of levetiracetam (n = 41) was mainly for insufficient efficacy (58.5% of those concerned).ConclusionsIn real-life clinical practice important treatment retention and non-negligible reduction of seizure frequency may be expected.