Carbamazepine Flashcards
What is it indicated for?
Seizure prophylaxis in epilepsy
Trigeminal neuralgia first line option
How does it work?
Not fully understood, the inhibit neuronal sodium channels, which may inhibit spread of seizure activity
What are the side effects of this drug?
GI upset- nausea, vomiting
Neurological effects- dizziness and ataxia
Oedema
Hyponatraemia
Skin rashes
Hypersensitivity reactions
Liver disease
Leucopenia
What are the warnings of this drug class?
Women with epilepsy planning to be pregnant should discuss treatment with specialist and start taking high-dose folic acid
Risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome is strongly associated with carriage of the HLA-B*1502 allele- prevalent of people of Han Chinese and Thai origin should be tested for this allele before treatment
Caution in hepatic, renal and cardiac disease
