Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery
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Comparative Study
Anti-epileptic therapy and behaviour disturbances in children.
In order to evaluate the effects on behaviour of some anti-epileptic drugs, we studied 300 children treated with phenobarbital and other drugs; their age ranged from 3.1 months to 15.9 years. The children were divided into two groups: group A: 197 (116 male and 81 female) children, mean age +/- SD 5.3 +/- 2.8 years, treated with phenobarbital; group B: 103 (66 male and 37 female) children, mean age 6.4 +/- 3.1 years, treated with anti-epileptic drugs other than phenobarbital. In all patients hyperactivity, irritability, disturbances of sleep, and drowsiness were investigated. ⋯ There was a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.0001). The most frequent disorder was hyperactivity. The results of this study suggest that anti-epileptic drugs, in particular phenobarbital, can cause behaviour disturbances.