Objective: To study the efficacy of levetiracetam (LEV) in the treatment of electrical status epilepticus during sleep (ESES) in children.
Methods: The clinical data of 27 children who were newly diagnosed with ESES and treated with LEV between August 2009 and March 2011 and who were followed up for at least 6 months were retrospectively studied.
Results: The onset age of the 27 children ranged from 9 months to 9 years and 7 months. Partial motion seizures were found in 81% of the children in the early stage. Twenty-three children received LEV treatment after ESES was definitely diagnosed. Of the 23 children, 19 were diagnosed as epilepsy syndrome of benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECT). The age of the patients at the beginning of LEV treatment ranged from 1 year and 8 months to 11 years and 9 months. The follow- up duration was 7 to 19 months. The effective rate of LEV for seizure control was 82% and for EEG recovery it was 78% (P<0.05). The other 4 children received LEV treatment before the occurrence of ESES. Seizure control and EEG recovery were noted in two of the 4 children.
Conclusions: LEV treatment is efficacious, to some extent, for both seizure control and EEG recovery in children with ESES.