Eslicarbazepine acetate as a therapeutic option in a patient with carbamazepine-induced rash and HLA-A*31:01.

ABSTRACT

Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is an anticonvulsant drug approved for the treatment of focal epilepsies, and related to oxcarbazepine and carbamazepine (CBZ), which are also derivatives of the dibenzazepine family. ESL is contraindicated in patients with hypersensitivity reactions to CBZ.We report a patient with frontal lobe epilepsy responding to treatment with ESL without any serious adverse effects after developing a severe skin rash following treatment with CBZ. HLA testing revealed an HLA-A*3101 haplotype, that increases the risk of CBZ-induced cutaneous reactions.This case study shows that, in clinical practice, ESL may be considered in a patient with the HLA-A*3101 haplotype and a hypersensitivity reaction to CBZ.