[Utilization of carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine in pediatric patients with partial epilepsy in Spain. An
1Departamento de Neurologia, Hospital Infantil Virgen del Rocio, Sevilla. miguelrufo@labra.e.telefonica.net
Introduction:
It is important to conduct studies on the utilization of new antiepileptic drugs in order to improve their use. Our objective is to describe the use patterns of carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine.
Methods:
Observational, cross-sectional, national study with 58 investigators that included 185 pediatric patients with partial epilepsy. We recorded prescription patterns, quality of life (QoL) using the QoL scale in childhood epilepsy (CAVE) and use of resources.
Results:
134 patients were under treatment with oxcarbazepine (72.4 %), with a mean dose of 22.3 mg/kg/day; standard deviation (SD): 8.04; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 20.9 to 23.7, and 51 (27.6%) with carbamazepine, mean dose of 14 mg/kg/day; SD: 6.2; 95 % CI: 12.3 to 15.8. A total of 19.4% and 21.6 %, respectively, followed multiple drug treatment. The mean scores on functional dimensions of CAVE were (out of 5): school attendance: 4.5; SD: 0.7; social relationships: 4.1; SD: 0.9, and autonomy: 3.9; SD: 1.9. Patients receiving multiple drug therapy had worse results in quality of life (p < 0.0001) and greater utilization of health care resources, more visits to the specialists (p = 0.04) and to the emergency departments (32.4% vs 7.4%).
Conclusions:
Oxcarbazepine is used in lower doses than recommended and the dosing is not adjusted for weight. Underdosing may lead to regimes of multiple drug therapy that should be reviewed individually.
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