Perampanel overdose in low body mass index patients with epilepsy: a case report and review of the literature

Background Perampanel (PER) is a novel antiepileptic drug (AED) which employs a completely different mechanism of action compared to existing medications. Overall, PER is considered to be safe up to a dose of 12 mg per day. When used to treat refractory and super-refractory status epilepticus, PER seems to be extremely well tolerated; this is true even when used at doses of up to 32 mg. There are currently only three case reports on the effects of acute PER overdose in epilepsy patients. Case presentation We report a 16-year-old Thai woman with a low body weight, who took PER at a dose of 40 times that of the prescribed daily dose. She experienced only an alteration of consciousness, without any systemic medical effects, and made a full recovery within 3 days without gastric lavage or specific treatment. Conclusion Our report demonstrates that an acute PER overdose may not produce serious adverse systemic effects. Individuals with adverse central nervous system (CNS) effects, such as altered consciousness, can experience a rapid recovery.