Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26945547›Full record

SynthesisBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2016

Efficacy and safety of prophylactic levetiracetam in supratentorial brain tumour surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Chryssa Pourzitaki, Georgia Tsaousi, Eirini Apostolidou, Konstantinos Karakoulas, Dimitrios Kouvelas, Ekaterini Amaniti

Open access · bronzeAbstract readComparative StudyMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
7.2field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  15. Article
  16. Antiepileptic Drugs in the Management of Cerebral Metastases.Neurosurgery clinics of North America · 2020
    Review
  17. Anesthetic considerations for awake craniotomy.Anesthesia and pain medicine · 2020
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Chryssa Pourzitaki1st Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.ORCID 0000-0002-3781-9680
Georgia TsaousiClinic of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Eirini Apostolidou2nd Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Konstantinos KarakoulasClinic of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Dimitrios Kouvelas2nd Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Ekaterini AmanitiClinic of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki · GR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsThe aim of this study was to perform an up-to-date systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy and safety of prophylactic administration of levetiracetam in brain tumour patients.

methodA systematic review of studies published until April 2015 was conducted using Scopus/Elsevier, EMBASE and MEDLINE. The search was limited to articles reporting results from adult patients, suffering from brain tumour, undergoing supratentorial craniotomy for tumour resection or biopsy and administered levetiracetam in the perioperative period for seizure prophylaxis. Outcomes included the efficacy and safety of levetiracetam, as well as the tolerability of the specific regimen, defined by the discontinuation of the treatment due to side effects.

resultsThe systematic review included 1148 patients from 12 studies comparing levetiracetam with no treatment, phenytoin and valproate, while only 243 patients from three studies, comparing levetiracetam vs phenytoin efficacy and safety, were included in the meta-analysis. The combined results from the meta-analysis showed that levetiracetam administration was followed by significantly fewer seizures than treatment with phenytoin (OR = 0.12 [0.03-0.42]: χ(2) = 1.76: I(2) = 0%). Analysis also showed significantly fewer side effects in patients receiving levetiracetam, compared to other groups (P < 0.05). The combined results showed fewer side effects in the levetiracetam group compared to the phenytoin group (OR = 0.65 [0.14-2.99]: χ(2) = 8.79: I(2) = 77%).

conclusionsThe efficacy of prophylaxis with levetiracetam seems to be superior to that with phenytoin and valproate administration. Moreover, levetiracetam use demonstrates fewer side effects in brain tumour patients. Nevertheless, high risk of bias and moderate methodological quality must be taken into account when considering these results.

Indexed as

AnticonvulsantsCraniotomyHumansLevetiracetamPerioperative CarePhenytoinPiracetamSeizuresSupratentorial NeoplasmsValproic AcidAnticonvulsantsLevetiracetamPhenytoinPiracetamValproic Acidbrain tumourlevetiracetammeta-analysisprophylaxisseizuressystematic review

Identifiers

PMID26945547
PMCPMC4917799
OpenAlexW2289330285

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.