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Case Reports
. 2006 Dec;47(12):2027-31.
doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2006.00846.x.

Valproic acid-induced hepatopathy: nine new fatalities in Germany from 1994 to 2003

Stephan A Koenig  1 , Deike Buesing, Elke Longin, Randi Oehring, Peter Häussermann, Gerhard Kluger, Friedemann Lindmayer, Ralf Hanusch, Ingrid Degen, Hans Kuhn, Kamrun Samii, Albrecht Jungck, Reinhard Brückner, Reinhild Seitz, Wolfgang Boxtermann, Yvonne Weber, Rolf Knapp, Hans Helmut Richard, Birgit Weidner, Johannes-Martin Kasper, Carl-Albrecht Haensch, Sabine Fitzek, Margarete Hartmann, Peter Borusiak, Andrea Müller-Deile, Volker Degenhardt, Georg-Christoph Korenke, Thomas Hoppen, Ulrich Specht, Thorsten Gerstner
Affiliations
Case Reports

Valproic acid-induced hepatopathy: nine new fatalities in Germany from 1994 to 2003

Stephan A Koenig et al. Epilepsia. 2006 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: Valproic acid (VPA) is an antiepileptic drug (AED) commonly used for generalized and focal epilepsies. We provide an update on hepatotoxic side effects in Germany between 1994 and 2003.

Methods: We mailed a questionnaire to all members of the German Section of the International League Against Epilepsy, asking for VPA-induced side effects, especially severe side effects such as hepatopathy.

Results: As a result of our questionnaire, we found 31 cases of reversible hepatotoxicity and nine cases of lethal hepatopathies in Germany from 1994 to 2003.

Conclusions: The outcome of patients with severe hepatotoxicity is better than that in the past. The risk of a VPA-induced hepatopathy is not limited to patients younger than 2 years, receiving polytherapy, or patients with congenital or acquired metabolic diseases.

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