Study	Reason for exclusion
Bird 1966	Unclear whether trial is randomised and unclear whether participants received either CBZ or PHT as monotherapy. Authors could not be contacted to clarify therefore trial excluded due to uncertainties.
Bittencourt 1993	Comparison between CBZ monotherapy and PHT monotherapy cannot be made. Participants were given phenobarbital initially which was later withdrawn whilst either CBZ or PHT was also introduced
Canadian Study 1998	Comparison between CBZ monotherapy and PHT monotherapy cannot be made. No randomised monotherapy comparison between CBZ and PHT. Participants were separated into 2 treatment arms (based on previous drug failure) and randomised to CBZ and clobazam in 1 arm and PHT or clobazam in the other arm
Hakami 2012	Comparison between CBZ monotherapy and PHT monotherapy cannot be made. Participants who failed CBZ or PHT monotherapy were randomised to levetiracetam or VPS monotherapy
Kaminow 2003	Participants were randomised to lamotrigine or 'standard therapy' (PHT, CBZ or VPA at the choice of the investigator). No randomised comparison can be made of CBZ and PHT
Kosteljanetz 1979	Comparison between CBZ monotherapy and PHT monotherapy cannot be made. All medication except phenobarbital and primidone were discontinued gradually, whilst dose of randomised drug CBZ or PHT was increased
Kuzuya 1993	Study is not randomised; participants were already on CBZ or PHT monotherapy on entry into the study
Rajotte 1967	Unclear if the study was randomised. Comparison between CBZ monotherapy and PHT monotherapy cannot be made. The trial has a cross‐over design with a 2‐week washout period in which both drugs were taken to make a gradual transition
Sabers 1995	Not fully randomised: “The treatment was chosen at random unless the individual diagnoses required a specific drug”
Shakir 1980	Direct comparison between CBZ and PHT not available. The publication reports 2 separate randomised studies, the first compares VPS and PHT and the second compares VPS and CBZ
Shorvon 1978	Study is not randomised
Simonsen 1976	Randomised participants were slowly withdrawn from their previous treatment as part of the trial and therefore a comparison between CBZ and PHT monotherapy cannot be made
Troupin 1975	All participants received PHT for 2 months prior to entering a randomised cross‐over period. It is unclear whether a comparison between CBZ and PHT monotherapy could be made
Zeng 2010	The study is not randomised ‐ the investigator made the choice of treatment for each participant

CBZ: carbamazepine PHT: phenytoin VPS: sodium valproate