Levetiracetam (LEV) is an antiseizure medication (ASM) used as a second line after benzodiazepines for status epilepticus treatment. Current literature lacks direct head-to-head comparisons between different LEV loading dose strategies, leading to uncertainty about superior dosing methods and thus clinical practice variations.

A retrospective cohort study was designed to compare efficacy and safety of low (<30 mg/kg) versus high (≥30 mg/kg) weight-based LEV loading doses in adults with benzodiazepine-refractory status epilepticus (BRSE). The primary outcome of this study was termination of BRSE. No requirement for additional ASM after LEV was a surrogate for BRSE termination. Secondary endpoints included endotracheal intubation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, 30-day all-cause mortality and adverse drug reactions. Statistical analysis included discrete and inferential statistics, including logistic regression and win-ratio analysis, to control for potential confounding variables.

Of the 106 patients included in this study, 54 (51%) did not require additional ASM after LEV, thereby achieving seizure termination. There was a higher proportion of patients with seizure termination in the higher weight-based dosing group as compared to the lower weight-based group (66% vs 40%, respectively; aOR 3.07; 95% CI: 1.36–7.21). There were lower rates for endotracheal intubation, ICU admission and all-cause mortality in the higher dosing group. Adverse events were comparable between the both groups.

LEV’s high weight-based loading dose strategy (≥30 mg/kg) is more effective in the termination of BRSE as compared to the lower weight-based loading dose strategy (<30 mg/kg).