Efficacy and safety of Oxcarbazepine (OXC) in clinical practice was evaluated through an open-label study lead on 202 epileptic patients referred to Neurological Departments of Triveneto, over a period of one year and five months. Patients underwent clinical interviews, blood samples and EEG, according to follow-up purposes. Statistical analysis (Wilcox- Mann- Whitney test and Jonckheere- Terpstra test) was performed. Data from 193 patients were available for efficacy evaluation: 133 patients received OXC as monotherapy (58 newly diagnosed and 75 refractory to previous antiepileptic drug (AED) monotherapy) and 60 patients received OXC as add-on therapy to previous AED monotherapy. In newly diagnosed and refractory patients, 72% and 39.5% were seizure free, > 85% and 59% had a ≥75% reduction in seizures, and 90% and 72% had a ≥50% reduction in seizures, respectively. In patients who received Oxcarbazepine as add-on therapy, 10% were seizure free, had a ≥75% reduction in seizures and 57% had a ≥50% reduction in seizures. Data show a statistical significant increase in seizure control, over 6 months of treatment (p-value= 0.0001). Overall, Oxcarbazepine was well tolerated, with 17% of patients experiencing adverse events similar to those previously reported.
