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NCT Number: NCT02229123

Levetiracetam Treatment of Neonatal Seizures: Safety and Efficacy Phase II Study

LEVNEONAT is a multicentre French clinical trials with the aim to develop new treatment strategies for the treatment of neonatal seizures using Levetiracetam. The purpose of this study is to determine the correct dosing, safety and efficacy for intravenous levetiracetam as first line treatment in term newborn babies with seizures in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy context. This new anticonvulsivant drug is a promising treatment for seizures in newborns.

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Key information

Conditions

Neonatal Seizures Brain Diseases Brain Ischemia Cardiovascular Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Cerebrovascular Disorders Hypoxia Hypoxia, Brain Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain Nervous System Diseases Neurologic Manifestations Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Seizures Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms, Respiratory Vascular Diseases

Age range

36 week–43 week

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 2

Primary location

Service de réanimation néonatale, Angers, France

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About this study

Article Focus

  • The principal aim of LEVNEONAT-1 is to determine the levetiracetam optimal dose defined as the highest efficient dose under toxicity restrictions for treating neonatal seizures.
  • LEVNEONAT-1 is an open-label, sequential dose-finding study with 3 increasing dose levels of levetiracetam.

Strenghts and limitation of study

  • For the first time, levetiracetam will be used as the first-line treatment of neonatal seizures and not as an add-on therapy.
  • Statistical model is designed for a rare clinical situation with a sequential adaptive method updating in real time the dose allocation for next patient by using all available data from previous participants.
  • The targeted population, i.e. the newborn less than 3 days of life, is particularly sensitive and the written consent of both parents is required before the levetiracetam administration.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Male or female term baby with gestational age of 36-43 weeks and postnatal age < or= 72 hours
  • One or more of the following :
  • APGAR score < 5 at 5 mins
  • Umbilical cord or arterial blood sample (within one hour after birth): pH <7.0 or base deficit > or = 16 mmol/L or lactates > or equal to 11 mmol/L
  • Abnormal neurological examination before 6 hours of life
  • Suspected clinical or EEG seizures

Inclusion criteria

  • A seizure lasting more than 3 minutes or more than 2 seizures lasting more than 20 seconds on a 1 hour-period on standard EEG recording 4 hours before the levetiracetam loading dose
  • Availability of 8 electrode EEG recording
  • Written informed consent of both parents or the authorized guardians
  • Subscription to social security health insurance are required

Exclusion criteria

  • Suspected or confirmed brain malformation, inborn error of metabolism, genetic syndrome or major congenital malformation
  • Congenital (in utero) infection (TORCH)
  • Babies who have received phenobarbital or any other anticonvulsive medication other than a bolus of midazolam for intubation
  • Anuria/renal failure defined as serum creatinine > 150 micromol/L
  • Seizures secondary to treatable metabolic etiology as hypoglycemia and hypocalcemia
  • Corrected QT interval (QTc) greater than 450 milliseconds on the electrocardiogram (ECG) prior to inclusion in the presence or absence of a condition that promotes QT prolongation (hypokalemia, maternal treatment during childbirth or treatment of the child with drugs known to prolong QT),
  • Participation to an interventional research study

Treatment and study plan

Intravenous levetiracetam

Drug

Open-study. If seizure lasting more than 3 minutes on EEG recording or brief repeated seizures (more or equal to 2 seizures lasting more than 20 seconds on a 1 hour-interval), the loading-dose of LEV allocated to patient is infused followed by the 8 maintenance dose.

Primary outcomes

  1. Levetiracetam Efficacy on EEG recording

    Time frame: the period just before the LEV loading dose (from 20 min to 3 hours) and the 3 hour time-interval from 1 hour 15 min (T11/4) to 4 hours 15 min (T41/4) after the starting of loading dose infusion (T0)

    Efficacy has been defined as an 80% reduction of seizure burden on EEG recording.

  2. Levetiracetam Short-Term Toxicity

    Time frame: 6 days from the loading dose

    Short-term toxicity focuses on 4 adverse events potentially attributable to LEV occurring in the 6 days following the loading dose: i) Severe apnoea leading to mechanical ventilation during the 4-hour period following the LEV infusion; ii) Anaphylactic shock occurring during the 30 minutes following the LEV infusion; iii) Toxic epidermic necrosis; iv) Stevens-Jonhson Syndrome. Short-term toxicity has been designed to trigger quickly a decreasing dose allocation to the next potential participant through a e-CRF alert.

  3. Levetiracetam Long-Term Toxicity

    Time frame: 30 days from the loading dose

    Long-term toxicity includes all the adverse events observed and declared to the pharmacovigilance unit up to the hospital discharge or the 30th day of life at the latest.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Levetiracetam Elimination Clearance

    Time frame: at 30 min, 4 hours and 7 hours after the end of loading dose infusion, respectively and at 1 to 3 hours and 12 hours to 18 hours after the last levetiracetam maintenance dose, respectively.

    The mean values of the elimination clearance and their respective interindividual variability will be estimated.

  2. Levetiracetam Distribution Volume

    Time frame: at 30 min, 4 hours and 7 hours after the end of loading dose infusion, respectively and at 1 to 3 hours and 12 hours to 18 hours after the last levetiracetam maintenance dose, respectively.

    The mean values of distribution volumes and their respective interindividual variability will be estimated.

  3. Plasmatic Levetiracetam Maximal Concentration

    Time frame: 30 min, 4 hours and 7 hours after the end of Levetiracetam loading dose infusion

    Plasmatic Peak Value of Levetiracetam Loading dose will be assessed.

  4. Levetiracetam Loading Dose Area under Curve

    Time frame: 30 min, 4 hours and 7 hours after the end of Levetiracetam loading dose infusion

    ndividual PK parameters will be estimated and used to calculated the AUC corresponding to the loading dose, after the first maintenance dose.

  5. Levetiracetam Entire Treatment Area Under Curve

    Time frame: at 30 min, 4 hours and 7 hours after the end of loading dose infusion, respectively and at 1 to 3 hours and 12 hours to 18 hours after the last Levetiracetam maintenance dose, respectively.

    Individual PK parameters will be estimated and used to calculated the cumulative AUC of the entire treatment.

  6. Seizure recurrence from the Efficacy criteria completion to day 6

    Time frame: from 4h15 after the loading dose to 6 days

    Clinical or electric seizures recurrence after the efficacy criteria assessment and up to the complete levetiracetam elimination (estimated 5 half-life) will be reported by investigator.

  7. Levetiracetam Efficacy according to the seizure burden intensity prior to loading dose

    Time frame: after the complete recruting period

    A new analysis will be performed retrospectively by adjusting the efficacy criteria to the seizure burden on the pre-treatment EEG. Two subgroups will be considered according to the seizure burden (SB) intensity on the pre-treatment EEG, i.e equal or above to 50% of the EEG recording duration (high SB group) and strictly under 50% of it (low SB group), respectively. LEV efficacy will be considered positive when a SB reduction of 50% will be observed on the post-treatment EEG recording in the high SB group whereas the reduction of 80% will be still valid for the low SB group.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Tours

Other

Collaborators

  • Amiens University Hospital
  • Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
  • Rennes University Hospital

Registry information

Official study title

Levetiracetam Efficacy and Safety as First-line Treatment of Neonatal Seizures Occuring in Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy Context

Acronym: LEVNEONAT-1

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Aug 29, 2014
Registry last updated
Dec 30, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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