[Fatal hepatic failure in a normally developed 5-year-old boy caused by VPA monotherapy].

A five-year-old, normally developed boy who had been healthy except for an absence epilepsy prior to valproate (VPA) treatment died 16 weeks after the introduction of VPA-monotherapy due to liver failure and intractable bleeding disorder. This case emphasizes that the restriction of VPA-therapy to children of more than two years of age, on monotherapy, and without evidence of other diseases or retardation does not exclude fatal complications. Until today world-wide about 100 patients have died during VPA-treatment.