TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Anticonvulsants A1 - LoVecchio, Frank A2 - Tintinalli, Judith E. A2 - Stapczynski, J. Stephan A2 - Ma, O. John A2 - Yealy, Donald M. A2 - Meckler, Garth D. A2 - Cline, David M. PY - 2016 T2 - Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide, 8e AB - Anticonvulsants, or antiepileptics, are used to treat acute seizures and prevent convulsions in patients with epilepsy. The first generation of antiepileptics was developed between 1939 and 1980 (Table 197-1). Since 1993, 15 additional agents have been introduced into clinical use, termed the "second and third generation" of antiepileptic drugs. In general, these new anticonvulsants have fewer serious adverse side effects and fewer drug interactions than the first-generation agents. The first-generation drugs have an established therapeutic range for serum levels that can guide therapy during long-term management and that correlate with acute toxicity from an overdose. Consistent therapeutic levels have not been established for the second and third-generation anticonvulsants, and serum levels are not a useful guide to therapy. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1121513128 ER -