TY - JOUR T1 - Anti-epileptic drug utilisation in paediatrics: a systematic review JF - BMJ Paediatrics Open DO - 10.1136/bmjpo-2017-000088 VL - 1 IS - 1 SP - e000088 AU - Oluwaseun Egunsola AU - Imti Choonara AU - Helen M Sammons Y1 - 2017/08/01 UR - http://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/1/1/e000088.abstract N2 - Objectives This study aims to determine global anti-epileptic drug (AED) utilisation prevalence and describe utilisation trends in different countries.Methods Databases Embase (1980–May 2017), Medline (1946–May 2017) and PubMed were searched for original research on AED utilisation. All paediatric national or regional database studies and surveys were included.Results Twenty-one studies were identified. Five were excluded from the analysis as the data were collected before 2005, leaving 16 studies. Monotherapy regimen varied between 58% and 94% in different countries. In several of the studies, sodium valproate was the most frequently prescribed AED. However, there is a trend towards increasing utilisation of new-generation AEDs, particularly levetiracetam, in some countries.Conclusion Monotherapy was used in 58%–94%of patients. There is increasing utilisation of the new-generation AEDs, in particular lamotrigine, levetiracetam and topiramate. Old-generation AEDs are still used in the majority of patients. There is a need for up-to-date studies to determine the prevalence of AEDs in children. ER -