Table 1:
Baseline characteristics of the study population by age group
| Children (aged <18 years; n=225) | Adults (aged 18–65 years; n=186) | Older adults (aged >65 years; n=51) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | |||
| Mean (SD) | 6.1 (4.3) | 42.6 (14.1) | 73.8 (7.2) |
| Range | 1–17* | 18–65 | 66–94 |
| Treatment allocation | |||
| Levetiracetam | 85 (38%) | 71 (38%) | 19 (37%) |
| Fosphenytoin | 71 (32%) | 54 (29%) | 17 (33%) |
| Valproate | 69 (31%) | 61 (33%) | 15 (29%) |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 124 (55%) | 108 (58%) | 30 (59%) |
| Female | 101 (45%) | 78 (42%) | 21 (41%) |
| Race | |||
| Black | 75 (33%) | 90 (48%) | 28 (55%) |
| White | 109 (48%) | 78 (42%) | 14 (27%) |
| Other, mixed race, or unknown | 41 (18%) | 18 (10%) | 9 (18%) |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Hispanic | 50 (22%) | 18 (10%) | 8 (16%) |
| Non-Hispanic | 166 (74%) | 159 (85%) | 41 (80%) |
| Unknown | 9 (4%) | 9 (5%) | 2 (4%) |
| History of epilepsy | 149 (66%) | 128 (69%) | 29 (57%) |
| Aetiology: precipitant of enrolling episode | |||
| Unprovoked | 106 (47%) | 43 (23%) | 12 (24%) |
| Febrile illness | 90 (40%) | 2 (1%) | 0 |
| Othert† | 11 (5%) | 43 (23%) | 12 (24%) |
| Antiseizure drug withdrawal or non-compliance | 9 (4%) | 43 (23%) | 6 (12%) |
| Toxic (eg, alcohol or drug withdrawal, poisoning) | 1 (0%) | 25 (13%) | 2 (4%) |
| Insufficient information to determine or idiopathic | 2 (1%) | 12 (6%) | 5 (10%) |
| Acute stroke or haemorrhage | 1 (0%) | 9 (5%) | 7 (14%) |
| CNS tumour | 0 | 5 (3%) | 3 (6%) |
| CNS infection | 4 (2%) | 2 (1%) | 1 (2%) |
| Metabolic (eg, hypoglycaemia, hyponatraemia) | 1 (0%) | 2 (1%) | 3 (6%) |
| Lorazepam equivalentst‡ | |||
| In mg for those weighing ≥32 kg | 6.0 (4.0–8.4) | 5.0 (4.0–6.4) | 4.0 (4.0–6.0) |
| In mg/kg forthose weighing <32 kg | 0.2 (0.1–0.2) | NA | NA |
Data are n (%) or median (IQR), unless otherwise indicated.
*
Five participants enrolled when aged younger than 2 years are eligibility deviations.
†
Most often included afebrile and non-CNS infections, combinations of aetiology, subacute stroke or haemorrhage, vasculitis, other encephalopathy, ventricular-peritoneal shunt failure, or sleep deprivation. Age groups differed by precipitant of enrolling episode, race, or ethnicity, but no baseline differences among treatment groups within age groups were detected.
‡
Includes all 478 enrolments.