Study of Sodium Valproate's Side Effects in 2 to 15 -Year-Old Children with Epilepsy or Migraine Disorders

Valproic acid is a wide spectrum drug in treatment of different types of epilepsy and migraine disorders. However, few studies have been conducted concerning drug-related side effects and their importance, particularly among Iranian children.
This prospective study was performed on 217 children aged 2 to 15 years old during 2014-15. Simple sampling was used to select children referred to pediatric neurologist in special clinic of medical university of Isfahan, Iran. Required data including demographic data, cause and dose and duration of using sodium valproate and drug-related side effects were collected. One case developed acute pancreatitis and 2 patients passed away.
Findings: Out of 217 subjects, most common complication was weight gain in 112 patients (51.6%). Increasing appetite (31.8%), abdominal pain (16.1%), headache (6.0%) and educational decrease (4.1%) significantly related to increasing age and improving mood state (5.1%) related to decreasing age(P = 0.036). Vomiting (3.2%) and thrombocytopenia (1.8%) related to increasing dose of valproate (respectively, P = 0.0001, P = 0.020). Other complications were not associated with age and drug's dose.
Serious adverse reactions of sodium valproate as an antiepileptic drug is rare but physician should be careful about alarming signs in children to prevent severe complications.