Depakine® Chronosphere ™ Syrup for children: instructions for use and reviews

One of the popular anti-seizure drugs is Depakine. When and how is it used in childhood?

Depakine acts as active ingredient in syrup valproic acid. It is supplemented with sucrose, sorbitol, water, flavors and other components.

In the treatment of children, Depakin Syrup is the most popular syrup, which is produced in 150 ml bottles, but this medicine also happens:

• In bags of granules Depakin Chronosphere. They have a longer effect and contain in a single bag 100 mg of the active substance.
• In tablets Depakin Chrono 300 mg and 500 mg for children over 6 years old (they have a prolonged action) and Depakine Enteric for children over 3 years old.
• In powder for injections.

The active substance Depakina has antiepileptic effect, and also has a positive effect on the mental state of the sick child. Valproic acid penetrates the brain tissue and lowers activity in those segments that are responsible for the appearance of seizures. Taking this drug leads to sedation and muscle relaxation.

The use of Depakine Syrup in childhood is recommended:

• With epileptic seizures. The medicine is prescribed both for absans and focal and generalized seizures. It is also indicated for epilepsy-induced behavior disorders.
• With convulsions, caused by organic brain disease.
• With manic-depressive psychosisif other medications are ineffective.
• With children's tick.
• With febrile convulsions in babies.

Be sure to watch the video in which Dr. Yevgeny Komarovsky talks about when urgent hospitalization is needed for febrile convulsions in a baby:

The drug is prescribed from birth, but at the age of less than two years, it may have a toxic effect on the liver, so Depakine use in such young children should be monitored by a doctor and additional examinations.

Depakine do not give children with:

• Disorders in the pancreas.
• Pathologies of the liver.
• Hemorrhagic diathesis.
• Porphyria.
• Intolerance to valproic acid or other components of the drug.

Depakin assigned to a child can cause the following consequences when taking:

• In babies, hands or hands may begin to tremble.
• A child may complain of spasmodic abdominal pain, decreased appetite, nausea, thinning of the stool or vomiting.
• Due to a decrease in the number of platelets in the blood, bleeding may be longer.
• The child may increase or decrease body weight.
• Skin rash or alopecia may occur.

Since the drug is toxic to the liver, it is important to monitor the function of this organ during Depakine treatment. Also, the child is regularly determined by the rate of blood sugar and coagulogram. Staggering gait of a child after taking Depakina requires consulting a doctor.

Syrup is given to a child during meals two (up to a year) or three (children over a year) times a day. For dosing use double-sided spoon or syringe, which is attached to the package. Syrup can be mixed with food or with any liquid.

The dosage of the drug is chosen individually, since it must be calculated on the basis of body weight. If a child weighs more than 25 kg, treatment begins with a daily dose of 5 to 15 mg per kilogram of weight.

Gradually, the amount of Depakine increases to a pronounced effect every 3-4 days. On average, a child is given 20 to 30 mg of valproic acid in Depakine composition for each kilogram of its weight. The maximum dosage is considered to be 50 mg of the active substance per kg of mass per day, but with the possibility of controlling the concentration in the blood, the dose can reach up to 60 mg.

Babies weighing less than 25 kg will have an average daily dosage of 15 to 45 mg / kg, and the maximum does not exceed 50 mg per kg per day. The dosage for combination with other drugs ranges from 30 to 100 mg of active ingredient per day for each kg of baby weight.

Depakin syrup dose must be coordinated with the doctor, since an overdose of the drug leads to nausea, dizziness, bouts of vomiting, indigestion. Besides, the use of Depakine in high dosage can cause the development of seizures, brain edema, respiratory disorders, coma and other dangerous conditions.

In case of overdose, you should immediately call an ambulance, and while waiting for the crew to carry out a gastric lavage and give the baby activated charcoal. In severe cases, hemodialysis has to be applied and the vital functions of the child in the hospital must be maintained.

• The drug will inhibit the nervous system, if together with him to give the child MAO inhibitors, antidepressants, benzodiazepine or neuroleptic drugs.
• If the child is prescribed to take Depakine and any means with a toxic effect on the liver, this will enhance the hepatotoxic effect.
• The simultaneous use of Depakine and anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents will enhance their effectiveness.
• If Depakin and zidovudine were prescribed to the child, the toxic effect of this antiviral drug will increase.
• Supplementing treatment with Depakin with drugs containing carbamazepine will accelerate the metabolic transformations of valproic acid, which will lower its blood concentration.
• Simultaneous appointment of Lamotrigina lengthens its elimination from the body.
• If you give the child Meflokhin, then the metabolism of the active substance Depakina will increase, which can threaten with convulsions.
• Salicylates are able to destroy the connection of valproic acid with proteins, which is why the Depakin effect is enhanced.
• Appointment of a child to Meropenem will reduce the level of valproic acid in the blood.
• If Depakin is combined with Primidone, the concentration in the blood of such an antiepileptic agent will increase.
• Having prescribed Felbamate together with valproic acid, the toxic effects of Depakine will increase.
• If the child is prescribed a combination of Depakine and Phenobarbital, then the concentration of the first compound will decrease, and the second one will increase.
• The use of valproic acid affects the metabolism of phenytoin.
• With the simultaneous appointment of Fluoxetine and Depakine, the effects of these drugs will increase.

The drug is sold by prescription.

A bottle of syrup should be kept away from the direct rays of the sun in a place where the child cannot reach. Storage temperature should not exceed + 25 ° С. The drug is valid for 3 years from the date of release.

About Depakin speak, as a very strong drug, which has positive effects, but there are negative effects. Reviews of most parents who gave Depakin to their children indicate that the medicine has many side effects. The most frequent are digestive disorders and changes in the psycho-emotional state.

Instead of Depakin, a child can be given other anticonvulsants medicines that contain valproic acid, for example, valparin or Konvuleks.