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[Height alterations and calcium metabolism after prolongated phenobarbital treatment (author's transl)]
Insights
Phenobarbital treatment in young children significantly reduced linear growth and blood calcium levels. This contrasts with children receiving only antithermic treatment, showing no such adverse effects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Long-term phenobarbital use in children may impact growth and bone development.
- Previous studies suggest potential adverse effects in offspring of epileptic mothers on anticonvulsants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of long-term phenobarbital treatment on linear growth and bone maturity in young children.
- To compare these effects with those observed in children receiving only antithermic treatment.
Main Methods:
- Controlled study of 85 children (6 months-3 years) with fever-induced convulsions.
- Groups received either phenobarbital (5 mg/kg/day) or antithermic treatment for 12 months.
- Evaluated height, metacarpal bone dimensions, bone age, and blood calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase levels.
Main Results:
- Phenobarbital group showed significant decreases in linear growth and blood calcium concentration.
- No significant variations were observed in the control (antithermic) group.
- No significant changes in bone age or metacarpal bone dimensions were reported for either group.
Conclusions:
- Long-term phenobarbital treatment in young children can negatively affect linear growth and calcium levels.
- Phenobarbital's impact on growth warrants careful consideration in pediatric treatment protocols.
Abstract:
In order to know if small children subjected to a long-term treatment with phenobarbital can suffer some alterations in their lineal growth or in their osseous maturity in the same way as those showed by epileptical mother's sons, 85 patients between six months and three years old, who had suffered fit convulsions during a fever process, 20 of them subjected to antithermic treatment, and the 65 left who received a phenobarbital treatment in doses of 5 mg./kg./day have been controlled. In each child, at the beginning of the control and after 12 months, their height, diaphysial diameter and cortical thickness of the metacarpal bones, and bone age is valued. At the same time a calcium, phosphorous and phosphatase-alcaline control was done. The group who had received anti-convulsivants drugs, showed a significant decrease in their lineal growth and in calcium concentration in blood. The control group didn't present any significant variation in any of the controls performed.