TABLE 3.
Initial Medications by Epilepsy Type, Seizure Semiologies, and Baseline Seizure Burden*
| n | Levetiracetam | Oxcarbazepine | Phenobarbital | Topiramate | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epilepsy presentation | ||||||
| Focal | 248 | 137 (55.2%) | 53 (21.4%) | 35 (14.1%) | 8 (3.2%) | 15 (5.9%) |
| Generalized | 136 | 104 (76.5%) | 5 (3.7%) | 11 (8.0%) | 5 (3.7%) | 11 (8.0%) |
| Mixed/unclear | 79 | 50 (63.3%) | 9 (11.4%) | 11 (13.9%) | 3 (3.8%) | 6 (7.6%) |
| Seizure semiology | ||||||
| Convulsion† | 316 | 213 (67.4%) | 35 (11.1%) | 36 (11.4%) | 13 (4.1%) | 19 (6.0%) |
| Focal seizures‡ | 65 | 35 (53.9%) | 17 (26.2%) | 11 (16.9%) | 1 (1.5%) | 1 (1.5%) |
| Behavioral arrest | 128 | 75 (58.6%) | 32 (25.0%) | 11 (8.6%) | 5 (3.9%) | 5 (3.9%) |
| Absence | 11 | 7 (63.6%) | 1 (9.1%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (27.3%) |
| Myoclonic§ | 38 | 28 (73.7%) | 1 (2.6%) | 2 (5.3%) | 0 (0%) | 7 (18.4%) |
| Baseline seizure frequency | ||||||
| <1/month | 48 | 36 (75.0%) | 9 (18.8%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (2.0%) | 2 (4.2%) |
| 1 to 3 per month | 64 | 46 (71.9%) | 11 (17.2%) | 3 (4.7%) | 2 (3.1%) | 3 (4.7%) |
| 1 to 6 per week | 72 | 47 (65.3%) | 11 (15.3%) | 8 (11.1%) | 3 (4.2%) | 3 (4.2%) |
| 1 per day | 48 | 27 (56.3%) | 5 (10.4%) | 8 (16.7%) | 0 (0%) | 8 (16.7%) |
| >1 per day | 188 | 108 (57.5%) | 27 (14.4%) | 29 (15.4%) | 10 (5.3%) | 14 (7.5%) |
| Not determined | 43 | 27 (62.8%) | 4 (9%) | 10 (23.3%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (4.7%) |
*
19 children received more than one medication at the time of epilepsy onset; these individuals are excluded from the data presented in this table.
†
Convulsions include tonic, clonic, and tonic-clonic (includes focal seizures with secondary generalization).
‡
Focal seizures include focal motor, sensory, and auras.
§
Myoclonic seizures include myoclonic, myoclonic-atonic, myoclonic-tonic, atonic.