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Valproic Acid

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Critical Care Toxicology

Abstract

Valproic acid (VPA) was discovered by chance to have anticonvulsant activity when it was used as the vehicle for administration of other compounds that were being studied for antiepileptic activity. It now is used widely not only as an anticonvulsant but also in psychiatry as a mood stabilizer for patients with bipolar disorders. Valproic acid was approved for use in the United States in 1978 after more than 10 years of use in Europe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA

    Wayne R. Snodgrass

  2. University of Texas Medical Branch, School of Medicine, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX, 77555, USA

    Chia Wei Hsu

Authors
  1. Wayne R. Snodgrass
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Correspondence to Wayne R. Snodgrass .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Jeffrey Brent

  2. FDA, Office of New Drugs/Immediate Office, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

    Keith Burkhart

  3. Clinical Toxicology, St Thomas’ Hospital, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

    Paul Dargan

  4. Toxicology Associates, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Benjamin Hatten

  5. Medical Toxicological Intensive Care Unit, Lariboisiere Hospital, Paris-Diderot University, Paris, France

    Bruno Megarbane

  6. Toxicology Associates, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Robert Palmer

  7. Toxinology Department, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Julian White

Grading System for Levels of Evidence Supporting Recommendations in Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd Edition

  1. I

    Evidence obtained from at least one properly randomized controlled trial.

  2. II-1

    Evidence obtained from well-designed controlled trials without randomization.

  3. II-2

    Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies, preferably from more than one center or research group.

  4. II-3

    Evidence obtained from multiple time series with or without the intervention. Dramatic results in uncontrolled experiments (such as the results of the introduction of penicillin treatment in the 1940s) could also be regarded as this type of evidence.

  5. III

    Opinions of respected authorities, based on clinical experience, descriptive studies, and case reports, or reports of expert committees.

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Snodgrass, W.R., Hsu, C.W. (2017). Valproic Acid. In: Brent, J., et al. Critical Care Toxicology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17900-1_115

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