Frequency of valproic acid induced thrombocytopenia in epileptic patients in Tertiary Care Hospital, Faisalabad.

Epilepsy may be defined as recurrent abnormal neuronal discharge leading to seizures or periods of unusual behavior, sensations and sometimes loss of awareness. Valproic acid is a widely-used first-generation antiepileptic drug. It has good efficacy and pharmacoeconomic profiles. But adverse drug reactions are also reported. Thrombocytopenia is one of the adverse effects of valproic acid treatment. But local evidence was lacking. So we conducted this study to get local evidence. Objectives: To see the frequency of thrombocytopenia in epileptic patients taking valproic acid. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional. Setting: Pediatric Department of DHQ Hospital Faisalabad. Period: 19-06-2017 to 19-12-2017. Material & Methods: 75 children were included. Then after taking informed consent patient’s blood sample was taken for complete blood count in standard vials and was sent to DHQ hospital pathology laboratory to diagnose thrombocytopenia as a count less than 150000cmm, where reports were verified by pathologist. All the data was analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Results: In this study, the mean age of patients was 6.59±3.15 years. There were 43 (57.3%) males and 32 (42.7%) females. In this study, 34 (45.3%) children had generalized type of epilepsy while 41 (54.7%) had focal type of epilepsy. The mean duration of valproic acid treatment was 3.15±2.82 years. The mean dose of valproic acid treatment was 38.40±6.07mg/kg. The mean platelet count 199602.87±58058.85mg/dl and 18 (24%) had thrombocytopenia while 57 (76%) did not develop thrombocytopenia. Conclusion: Thus the frequency of thrombocytopenia is low but still we will advise the patients to screen out themselves for bleeding or bruising.