Objective: To systematically compare the safety of levetiracetam (LEV) and other novel antiepileptic drugs such as oxcarbazepine (OXC)

lamotrigine (LTG) and topiramate (TPM) in the treatment of epilepsy in children. Methods: Web of Science

PubMed

EMBase

the Cochrane Library

CNKI

Wanfang

VIP and CBM database were retrieved to collect the randomized controlled trials (RCT) of comparison of LEV and other novel antiepileptic drugs in the treatment of epilepsy in children. The retrieval time was from the establishment of the database to Sept. 8th

2021. Literature was screened and relevant data were extracted. The quality of the included literature was evaluated by the risk of bias assessment tool recommended by the Cochrane Manual for Systematic Reviewers 5.1.0. RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta-analysis and publication bias analysis. Results: A total of 16 RCT were enrolled

including 1

281 patients. Meta-analysis showed that the incidence of adverse drug reactions in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group (RR=0.64

95%CI from 0.50 to 0.81

P=0.000

2). Subgroup analysis showed that the incidence of adverse drug reactions in the LEV group was lower than that in the OXC group (RR=0.47

95%CI from 0.29 to 0.76

P=0.002) and the LTG group (RR=0.35

95%CI from 0.16 to 0.73

P=0.006 )

but there was no significant difference compared with the TPM group (RR=0.78

95%CI from 0.55 to 1.09

P=0.15). There was some publication bias in this study. Conclusion: The safety of novel antiepileptic drugs

especially LEV

in the treatment of childhood epilepsy is higher.