Abstracts

Rationale: Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a member of the dibenzazepine family of antiepileptic drugs, which also includes carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine, but differs from these agents in terms of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and metabolism. We investigated the efficacy and safety/tolerability of ESL in patients transitioning from carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine to ESL in clinical practice by analyzing data from the Euro-Esli study.     Methods: Euro-Esli was an exploratory pooled analysis of 14 European clinical practice studies. Effectiveness assessments included responder rate (≥50% seizure frequency reduction) and seizure freedom rate (seizure freedom at least since prior visit), assessed after 3, 6 and 12 months of ESL treatment, and at the last visit. Safety and tolerability were assessed throughout follow-up by evaluating adverse events (AEs) and ESL discontinuation due to AEs, respectively. Data were analysed for cohorts of patients who transitioned from carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine to ESL either due to lack of efficacy or poor tolerability. Results: Euro-Esli included 2058 patients (52.1% male; mean age, 44 years; mean duration of epilepsy, 20.9 years), of whom 233 (11.3%) transitioned from carbamazepine to ESL and 134 (6.5%) transitioned from oxcarbazepine to ESL. After 12 months of ESL treatment, responder and seizure freedom rates for patients transitioning from carbamazepine due to lack of efficacy (n=163) were 70.0% and 30.9%, respectively (Figure 1). Corresponding values for patients transitioning from oxcarbazepine due to lack of efficacy (n=90) were 57.1% and 25.0%, respectively (Figure 2). Among patients who transitioned from carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine to ESL due to lack of efficacy, 11.6% and 10.5% discontinued ESL due to lack of efficacy, respectively. Among patients who transitioned from carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine to ESL due to poor tolerability (n=64 and n=61, respectively), 26.6% and 39.5% experienced AEs, and 8.3% and 6.8% discontinued ESL due to AEs, respectively. Conclusions: ESL was efficacious and generally well tolerated in patients transitioning from carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine in clinical practice, suggesting that it may be a useful treatment option for patients who either do not achieve adequate control or experience intolerable AEs with these agents. Funding: Study supported by Eisai.