Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

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HOMEOSTATIC CHANGES DURING ANTICONVULSANT MEDICATION IN CHILDREN

MICHAELA DOBRE1, COSTINELA GEORGESCU2*, VICTORITA STEFANESCU3, MAGDALENA CUCIUREANU4, AUREL NECHITA5, MANUELA ARBUNE5

1.Department of Functional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, 35, Al. I Cuza Street, Galati, Romania
2 .Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, 35, Al. I Cuza Street, Galati, Romania
3 .Department of Morphological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, 35, Al. I Cuza Street, Galati, Romania
4 .Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, "Gr. T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16, Universitatii Street, Iasi, Romania
5 .Clinical Department, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, 35, Al. I Cuza Street, Galati, Romania

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Approximately 3% of the paediatric population presents one seizure episode till the age of 15, half of which are associated with fever [8]. Around 1% of children exhibit epilepsy-recurring seizures. Although having known side effects, carbamazepine and valproic acid still hold supremacy in the hierarchy of anticonvulsant therapy. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of abnormal haematological and biochemical values in children receiving carbamazepine or valproic acid therapy who attended Clinical Emergency Hospital for Children, Galati, Romania, assessing the vulnerability of the paediatric population to the side effects caused by this type of medication. Moreover, simultaneous measurement of serum concentrations of carbamazepine and valproic acid represents a practical way of assessing the quality of treatment, facilitating dose adjustment in order to obtain an optimum cost/therapeutic benefit ratio.