Antiepileptic Drugs for Preventing Seizures Following Acute Traumatic Brain Injury: Appraisal of the Cochrane Commission Systematic Review

Abstract

The work was done to explore the effectiveness of prophylactic antiepileptic drugs for acute traumatic brain injury and assess risk: benefit ratios. The author asked if this intervention helped sort-term survivors avoid seizures after injury and assessed the influence of such medication on death and disability which result in seizures in long term survivors of TBI. Finally, the work assessed the benefits given potential adverse reactions to these drugs. The author found that using anti-epileptic drugs in the early stages after traumatic brain injury does decrease seizures. This review found that anti-epileptic drugs were effective for decreasing seizures in the first week after a TBI. Available pooled data failed to demonstrate reductions in overall mortality, late onset seizures, or the development of persistent vegetative states. However, the conclusions are limited by the scarcity of clear data collected to investigate cognitive/behavioural, neurological, or hematopoietic adverse effects thought to result from the anti seizure medications.