A Systematic Review of Seizure-Freedom Rates in Patients With Benign Epilepsy of Childhood With Centrotemporal Spikes Receiving Antiepileptic Drugs

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to evaluate seizure remission rates in patients with benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) receiving antiepileptic drugs. METHODS PubMed and Web of Science were searched for studies on pharmacotherapy in patients with BECTS using free search terms or Medical Subject Headings. Only studies that used seizure-freedom rates as an indicator for pharmaceutical efficacy were considered. Different antiepileptic drugs were compared using the Fisher exact test for seizure-freedom rates. RESULTS A total of 19 studies were included, 6 of them being randomized controlled trials. The randomized controlled trials included a total of 308 patients and covered sulthiame (n = 52), topiramate (n = 45), levetiracetam (n = 43), oxcarbazepine (n = 31), carbamazepine (n = 68), and clobazam (n = 18) as well as placebo (n = 35) and untreated control groups (n = 16). Treatment success rates were significantly higher in those children treated with sulthiame, levetiracetam, and clobazam compared with the children treated with carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, or topiramate. CONCLUSIONS The available literature suggests the use of sulthiame, levetiracetam, or clobazam as first-line agents for the treatment of BECTS.