Rufinamide in Patients with Childhood Onset Intractable Epilepsy.

Ahn,  Hyunji; Yum,  Mi Sun; Yeh,  Hye Ryun; Kim,  Min Jee; Ko,  Tae sung

doi:2017.25.2.75

Ann Child Neurol > Volume 25(2); 2017 > Article

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Child Neurology Society 2017;25(2):75-81.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26815/jkcns.2017.25.2.75 Published online June 30, 2017.

Rufinamide in Patients with Childhood Onset Intractable Epilepsy.

Hyunji Ahn, Mi Sun Yum, Hye Ryun Yeh, Min Jee Kim, Tae sung Ko

Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital, Seoul, Korea. tsko@amc.seoul.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study is aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of rufinamide as add-on therapy in patients with intractable epilepsies. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 70 patients treated with rufinamide in Asan Medical Center, children's hospital. Two cases with incomplete medical records were excluded and total sixty-eight cases were enrolled. Rufinamide was added on the existing antiepileptic drugs and the total seizure frequency at pre-medication, 3 months and 12 months were examined. RESULTS: The mean age of 68 patients (43 male) was 10.5 yrs (range, 1-24 yrs). At 3 months after rufinamide initiation, 5 patients achieved freedom from seizures and 28 (41.2%) achieved a ≥50% seizure reduction. At 12 months, 7 patients achieved seizure freedom and 29 (42.6%) achieved ≥50% seizure reduction. The retention rate was hold up to 75.0% at 3 months and 66.2% at 12 months of study. Total 29 patients reported adverse events in order of seizure aggravation, somnolence, insomnia, common cold, nausea and vomiting. CONCLUSION: In this study, rufinamide is effective and tolerable in patients with other intractable epilepsy of childhood onset as well as the patients with LGS. Further research is required to define the efficacy of rufinamide in intractable epilepsy other than LGS.

Key Words: Rufinamide, Intractable epilepsy, Pediatric, Effectiveness, Tolerability