Ocular examinations, findings, and toxicity in children taking vigabatrin.
Publication/Presentation Date
8-1-2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The antiepileptic medication vigabatrin has been associated with ocular toxicity, and close ophthalmic monitoring has been recommended; however, there is no clear consensus regarding the value and feasibility of such monitoring in children. We describe ophthalmic assessments in children in a real-world clinical setting, the incidence of vigabatrin-related ocular toxicity, and the utility of regular screening or ancillary testing in children taking vigabatrin.
METHODS: The medical records of children taking vigabatrin with one or more ophthalmic assessments at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia or University of California, San Francisco, between May 2010 and May 2021, were reviewed retrospectively. Abnormalities on ophthalmic examination, visual field (VF), electroretinogram (ERG), and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were reviewed and categorized as attributable to vigabatrin, possibly attributable to vigabatrin, or not attributable to vigabatrin.
RESULTS: A total of 1,281 assessments of 284 children (mean age, 2.09 years) were included. Of these, 283 (99.6%) had funduscopic examination(s), 37 (13.0%) had ERG, 19 (6.7%) had OCT, and 6 (2.1%) had formal VF. Rate of examinations and ERGs per child decreased over the 10-year study period. Two children (0.7%) had definite vigabatrin-related ocular toxicity, both identified on ERG. An additional 4 children (1.4%) had optic atrophy of unclear relation to vigabatrin, categorized as possible toxicity. The remaining 278 children did not have abnormal examination or testing findings attributable to vigabatrin.
CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of vigabatrin-related ocular toxicity in children was low in our cohort. Ocular and neurologic comorbidities and limited examinations in children make identification of such toxicity challenging and the value of screening is unclear.
Volume
26
Issue
4
First Page
1
Last Page
187
ISSN
1528-3933
Published In/Presented At
Schein, Y., Miller, K. D., Han, Y., Yu, Y., de Alba Campomanes, A. G., Binenbaum, G., & Oatts, J. T. (2022). Ocular examinations, findings, and toxicity in children taking vigabatrin. Journal of AAPOS : the official publication of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, 26(4), 187.e1–187.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaapos.2022.05.001
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Pediatrics
PubMedID
35817277
Department(s)
Department of Pediatrics
Document Type
Article