Levetiracetam is an anticonvulsant drug used to treat partial seizures, myoclonic seizures of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. A review of the literature with an evidence-based medicine method highlighted parameters (age, renal failure, pregnancy, combination with other anticonvulsant drugs) which affect levetiracetam pharmacokinetics but no significant relationship between plasma concentration of levetiracetam and efficacy or toxicity. Concentrations usually observed in therapeutics is from 6 to 18 mg/L. However, the determination of an individual therapeutic concentration, associated with an effective and well tolerated therapy, could be recommended particularly before pregnancy. Consequently, therapeutic drug monitoring of leve-tiracetam which is not currently recommended could be possibly useful in specific clinical situations.
Keywords: levetiracetam; lévétiracétam; suivi thérapeutique pharmacologique; therapeutic drug monitoring.
Copyright © 2010 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique. Publié par Elsevier Masson SAS.