Assessing efficacy and safety of rectally vs. intravenously administered Sibazon in treatment of generalized epileptic seizures in children

Objective: to prove the therapeutic equivalence and similar safety profile of “Sibazon, rectal solution” (international nonproprietary name: diazepam) and “Sibazon, solution for intravenous and intramuscular administration” in children with primary generalized and bilateral tonic, clonic and tonic-clonic seizures. Material and methods. An open-label, randomized clinical trial on efficacy and safety was conducted in 20 patients suffering from epilepsy with generalized seizures aged 1 to 17 years. Clinical blood and urine tests, biochemical blood analysis were used for diagnostics (glucose, total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, creatine phosphokinase, alkaline phosphatase, creatinine, urea, creatinine clearance), as well as data on electrocardiographic (ECG) and electroencephalographic (EEG) studies. The patients were divided into two groups: in Group 1 (n=8), a rectal solution was used, in Group 2 (n=12) – a solution for intravenous and intramuscular administration. Results. The number of cases in which seizures were completed within 10 minutes after using the drug without resuming within subsequent 60 minutes, in Group 1 was 7 (87.5%), and in Group 2 – 9 (75.0%) (Fisher exact test (FET): p=0.617). Repeated primary generalized or bilateral tonic/clonic/tonic-clonic seizures within 24 hours after drug administration, in Group 1 were absent in 5 (62.5%) patients, in Group 2 – in 6 (50%) (FET: p=0.670); within 48 hours after drug administration – in 5 (62.5%) and 7 (58.3%) children, respectively (FET: p=1.00). Physical examination revealed no pathology in all patients at the final visit. While comparing ECG and EEG data at the final visit, no inter-group differences were found by the number of children with deviations from the norm. The results of laboratory studies confirmed that using the studied drugs had no negative effect on the main indicators of clinical and biochemical blood tests as well as clinical urine analysis. Conclusion. The effectiveness of the rectal form of Sibazon in relieving pediatric generalized epileptic seizures is comparable to that of Sibazon for intramuscular administration. The drug rectal form, due to easy-to-use administration, is preferable for outpatient practice. “Sibazon, rectal solution” is safe and has good tolerability.