The following is a summary of “Sudden Cardiac Death or Ventricular Arrythmia in Patients Taking Levetiracetam or Oxcarbazepine,” published in the April 2024 issue of Neurology by Cross et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study comparing levetiracetam and oxcarbazepine outcomes, investigating QT prolongation-related cardiac issues.

They analyzed patients taking levetiracetam or oxcarbazepine newly (Jan 2010 and Dec 2019) from OptumLabs Data Warehouse (OLDW). The analysis aimed for a combined endpoint evaluating sudden cardiac death or ventricular arrhythmia’s association with QT interval prolongation. Oxcarbazepine was an active comparator to minimize bias, and Cox regressions were used to assess levetiracetam’s association using propensity score weighting.

The results showed that 104,655 individuals were taking levetiracetam, while 39,596 individuals were taking oxcarbazepine. Older individuals who were taking levetiracetam were more likely to have multiple health conditions at the beginning of the study. However, there was no significant difference in the rate of combined endpoint between the two groups when analyzed using either the Cox proportional hazards model or Cox regression with time-varying characteristics.

Investigators concluded no correlation between oxcarbazepine and levetiracetam with an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death.

Source: neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209177