Summary of findings 3. Summary of findings table ‐ Phenobarbital versus phenytoin as first‐line ASM for EEG‐confirmed neonatal seizures.
| Phenobarbital versus phenytoin as first‐line ASM for EEG‐confirmed neonatal seizures | ||||||
| Patient or population: neonates with EEG‐confirmed seizures Setting: Neonatal intensive care unit Intervention: phenobarbital as first‐line ASM Comparison: phenytoin as first‐line ASM | ||||||
| Outcomes | Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | № of participants (studies) | Certainty of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Risk with phenytoin as first‐line ASM | Risk with phenobarbital as first‐line ASM | |||||
| Proportion of infants who achieve seizure control after the first loading dose of ASM ‐ not reported | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | The trial did not report this outcome |
| Proportion of infants who achieve seizure control after the maximal loading dose of ASM | 448 per 1000 | 435 per 1000 (242 to 771) | RR 0.97 (0.54 to 1.72) | 59 (1 RCT) | ⊕⊝⊝⊝ Very lowa,b | |
| Mortality or neurodevelopmental disability at 18 to 24 months' corrected age ‐ not reported | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | The trial did not report this outcome |
| *The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; RR: risk ratio | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect. Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different. Low certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect. Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect. | ||||||
| See interactive version of this table: https://gdt.gradepro.org/presentations/#/isof/isof_question_revman_web_438951560046041157. | ||||||
a Downgraded by two levels for very serious risk of bias due to high risk of bias in the only included trial b Downgraded by two levels for very serious imprecision due to very low sample size and event rate not meeting the 'Optimal Information Size' criteria