Abstract
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of phenytoin (PHT) in the treatment of situation-related
seizures and epilepsies in the newborn and infant; the clinical histories of 82 patients
were retrospectively reviewed. Sixty patients received for status epilepticus (SE),
intravenous PHT followed by long-term oral administration for 27 of them. The other
22 patients had oral treatment only. Intravenous administration made 55% of these
patients seizure-free, whereas oral administration produced lasting seizure control
in only 9.1%. During chronic oral treatment, it was most difficult to obtain adequate
plasma concentrations in 69.1% of the patients, and 43.6% had side effects, most of
which were related to very high plasma concentrations. In conclusion, in the first
2 years of life, intravenous administration of PHT is useful for SE, but oral treatment
is poorly effective with difficulty to achieve appropriate and stable therapeutic
plasma concentrations, and with frequent side effects.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
September 13,
1999
Received in revised form:
September 9,
1999
Received:
March 30,
1999
Identification
Copyright
© 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
