Sir James Spence Institute of Child Health, The Royal Victoria Infirmary, Queen Victoria Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP, UK. E.B.Posner@ncl.ac.uk
PURPOSE:To evaluate the role of ethosuximide, sodium valproate and lamotrigine in children and adolescents with typical absence seizures (AS). METHODS: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials that included children or adolescents with typical absence seizures who received treatment with ethosuximide, sodium valproate or lamotrigine. RESULTS: Four RCTs fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Due to the heterogeneity of the studies the results could not be pooled in a meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: We found no reliable evidence to inform clinical practice. The design of further trials should be pragmatic and compare one drug with another.