Levetiracetam Noninferior to Carbamazepine for Newly Diagnosed Epilepsy

The question of relative antiepileptic drug (AED) efficacy is frequently, if not always, a consideration when choosing a drug to treat a patient with a seizure disorder. Because relatively few studies have directly compared two or more AEDs in comparable groups of patients, the decision to select an agent often is based on the physician’s personal experience or other nonevidence-based data.

In this double-blind, randomized, manufacturer-sponsored study, researchers assessed the noninferiority of levetiracetam to controlled-release carbamazepine in 579 patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy. Dosages could be increased once or twice if seizures continued, but patients were withdrawn from the study if seizures continued at the highest dosages. …