Comparison of the safety of brivaracetam at various doses among patients with epilepsy: A network meta‑analysis of randomized controlled trials

Meng,Ying; Wu,Jiahuan; Shi,Jianxin; Weng,Wenyu; Zhou,Zhikun

doi:10.3892/etm.2020.9262

Comparison of the safety of brivaracetam at various doses among patients with epilepsy: A network meta‑analysis of randomized controlled trials

Authors:
- Ying Meng
- Jiahuan Wu
- Jianxin Shi
- Wenyu Weng
- Zhikun Zhou
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Affiliations: Department of Pharmacology, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, Guangdong 523808, P.R. China
Published online on: October 2, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.9262
Article Number: 133

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Abstract

The present study aimed to compare the safety of brivaracetam (BRV) at various doses among patients with epilepsy through a network meta‑analysis. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were retrieved from different databases, which were then pooled for a network analysis for calculating the odds ratios (ORs), together with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). A total of 9 RCTs were included in the final analysis. Compared with placebo, BRV at a dose of 50 mg daily led to a markedly increased risk of nervous system disorders (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.43‑0.90; P=0.01) and evidently increased the risk of psychiatric disorders (OR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.04‑0.64; P=0.022). However, BRV treatment was not associated with a statistically significant change in the prevalence of infectious diseases. SUCRA analysis suggested that treatment with BRV at 50 mg/day posed the highest risk of nervous system disorders and psychiatric disorders compared with placebo or other doses of BRV. In conclusion, BRV treatment at a dose of 50 mg/day may increase the risk of nervous system diseases and psychosis disorders compared with the placebo group. However, more high‑quality clinical studies are warranted to validate these results.

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