Hyponatremia induced by oxcarbazepine in children

• Published in: Epilepsy research Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 241 - 246
• Main Authors: Borusiak, Peter, Korn-Merker, Elisabeth, Holert, Nils, Boenigk, Hans-Erich
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.05.1998; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anticonvulsants - adverse effects; Anticonvulsants - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Carbamazepine - adverse effects; Carbamazepine - analogs & derivatives; Carbamazepine - therapeutic use; Child; Children; Chlorides - blood; Drug toxicity and drugs side effects treatment; Electroencephalography; Epilepsy - blood; Epilepsy - drug therapy; Epilepsy - physiopathology; Female; Humans; Hyponatremia; Hyponatremia - chemically induced; Male; Medical sciences; Oxcarbazepine; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Toxicity: blood; Oxcarbazepine; Hyponatremia; Children; Human; Hydroelectrolytic balance disorder; Toxicity; Anticonvulsant; Inorganic element; Case study; Metabolic disorder; Chemotherapy; Hypochloremia; Female; Child
• ISSN: 0920-1211; 1872-6844
• DOI: 10.1016/S0920-1211(98)00012-6

We report the case of a 12-year-old girl with severe clinically relevant hyponatremia (118 mmol/l) and hypochloremia (81 mmol/l) during treatment with oxcarbazepine (OCBZ). The adverse effects were rapidly reversible after discontinuation of OCBZ and did not occur when exposed to carbamazepine. We reviewed the charts of 48 patients who received OCBZ as in-patients in our epilepsy centre and found hyponatremia in nine and hypochloremia in four. The mean sodium level of all patients was 139 mmol/l (range 118–150 mmol/l). We did not see any correlation between sodium or chloride levels and dose of OCBZ or blood serum level of the active metabolite 10-OH-carbazepine. We emphasize that children are at risk of developing electrolyte disturbances during treatment with OCBZ and thus the level of at least sodium should be monitored in those patients.