Valproic acid hypersensitivity and desensitization

Rash, a hypersensitivity reaction, is a common cause of withdrawal from an effective antiepileptic drug (AED) in patients with epilepsy. We present a case of successful desensitization to valproic acid in a 12-year-old male with childhood absence epilepsy and a hypersensitivity reaction, whose epilepsy did not respond to other AEDs. Desensitization is a practical therapeutic solution for patients who develop a non-life-threatening hypersensitivity reaction to an AED for which there may be no substitute.