Levetiracetam for Injection: Uses, Side Effects and Dosage

What is LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION used for?

LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION is used to help reduce the number of your seizures, or your child’s seizures when taken together with other seizure medications.

LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION may be given for several days when you or your child are unable to take seizure medications by mouth.

How does LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION work?

LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION belongs to the family of medicines called antiepileptics. The exact way that LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION works to treat seizures is not known.

What are the ingredients in LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION?

Medicinal ingredients: Levetiracetam

Non-medicinal ingredients: Glacial Acetic Acid (to adjust pH), Sodium acetate trihydrate, Sodium Chloride, Water for injection.

LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION comes in the following dosage forms:

IV Solution for Injection: 100 mg / mL

Do not use LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION if:

• you or your child are allergic to levetiracetam; or to any of the other ingredients in LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION (see What are the ingredients in LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION?).

To help avoid side effects and ensure proper use, talk to your healthcare professional before you are given, or your child is given LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION. Talk about any health conditions or problems you or your child may have, including if you (or your child):

• have or have had a history of any heart problems or problems with the way your heart beats. You may develop these even if you’ve never had a heart problem before;
• take any medicines that affect the heart or how it beats;
• take certain medicines that can cause an electrolyte imbalance;
• have any health problems, including ones you or your child have had in the past;
• have kidney disease;
• have had an allergic reaction such as swelling of the face, lips, eyes, tongue, and throat; trouble swallowing or breathing, and hives (anaphylaxis or angioedema) to other antiepileptic medicines in the past;
• are taking any medication, including ones you can get without a prescription;
• have recurrent infections or blood coagulation disorders;

• are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. Taking more than one antiepileptic medication during pregnancy increases the risk of your baby having birth defects.

  • You and your doctor will have to decide if LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION is right for you while you are pregnant.
  • If you decide to take LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION while you are pregnant, ask your healthcare provider about joining the North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry. You can join by calling the toll-free number (888) 233-2334. Women who are pregnant and planning to take LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION should join the pregnancy registry. It will enable the collection of valuable data about LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION use in pregnancy;
• are breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed. LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION is known to pass into breast milk and may harm your baby. You and your doctor should decide whether you should take LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION or breastfeed, but not both.

Other warnings you should know about:

Changes in behaviour: You should pay attention to any mental changes, especially sudden changes in you or your child’s mood, behaviours, thoughts, or feelings. These changes are seen more commonly in children than in adults.

Call your doctor or your child’s doctor right away, if you or your child have any changes in behaviour that are new, worse, or worry you. These changes could include:

• feeling depressed, nervous, or anxious
• feeling angry, agitated or hostile
• in some people, psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not really there), delusions (false or strange thoughts or beliefs), and unusual behaviour.

A small number of people may have thoughts of suicide (harming or killing themselves) when taking antiepileptic drugs such as LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION. If at any time you or your child have these thoughts, get medical help right away. Do NOT stop LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION on your own.

Trouble with coordination and driving and operating machinery: LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION may affect your or your child’s coordination. It may also make you or your child feel sleepy and tired. It is more likely to happen at the beginning of your or your child’s treatment or after an increase in the dose. You should not drive or operate machinery until you know how LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION affects you.

Severe Allergic Reaction Involving the Skin and Other Organs: There is no way to tell if a mild skin rash will become a severe reaction. The following serious skin reactions have been reported with levetiracetam:

• Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS)
• Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN);
• Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS)

Although very rare, severe forms of these reactions may lead to death.

Get medical help right away if you develop any combination of the following:

• a rash or any serious skin reaction such as blistering or peeling of the lips, eyes or mouth;
• fever;
• swollen glands;
• joint pain;
• problems related to the liver, kidneys, heart, lungs or other organs;
• a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis or angioedema) such as swelling of the face, lips, eyes, tongue, and throat; trouble swallowing or breathing, and hives.

Tell your healthcare professional about all the medicines you or your child take, including any drugs, vitamins, minerals, natural supplements or alternative medicines.

The following may interact with LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION:

• other antiepileptic medicines (such as carbamazepine, topiramate);
• Oral contraceptives (used for birth control);
• Methotrexate (used to treat certain types of cancer and arthritis).

How LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION is given to you or your child:

LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION will be given to you or your child:

• by a doctor or nurse;
• as an infusion into a vein (intravenous infusion);
• twice a day for several days.

Usual dose:

Your doctor will decide how much LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION you or your child will need. The dose you or your child will be given will depend on your or your child’s age, weight and medical history.

Stopping treatment: If your doctor decides to stop your or your child’s treatment with LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION, he/she will decrease the dose slowly. This is to prevent your or your child’s symptoms from coming back again or becoming worse.

Overdose:

If you think you, or a person you are caring for, have taken too much LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION, contact a healthcare professional, hospital emergency department, regional poison control centre or Health Canada’s toll-free number, 1-844 POISON-X (1-844-764-7669) immediately, even if there are no signs or symptoms

What are possible side effects from using LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION?

These are not all the possible side-effects you or your child may have when given LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION. If you or your child experience any side effects not listed here, tell your healthcare professional.

Side effects include:

• Feeling sleepy and tired / feeling tired. This side effect generally occurs in the first few weeks of treatment and may improve over time; however, it may return if you are taking LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION for a long period of time.
• Headache
• Lack or loss of strength
• Feeling irritated
• Infection
• Bruising
• Feeling dizzy
• Sore throat
• Runny and stuffy nose
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea

Serious side effects and what to do about them

If you have a troublesome symptom or side effect that is not listed here or becomes bad enough to interfere with your daily activities, tell your healthcare professional.

Reporting Side Effects

You can report any suspected side effects associated with the use of health products to Health Canada by:

• Visiting the Web page on Adverse Reaction Reporting (canada.ca/drug-device-reporting ) for information on how to report online, by mail or by fax; or
• Calling toll-free at 1-866-234-2345.

NOTE: Contact your health professional if you need information about how to manage your side effects. The Canada Vigilance Program does not provide medical advice.

Storage:

LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION will be stored by your doctor.

Keep out of reach and sight of children.

If you want more information about LEVETIRACETAM FOR INJECTION:

• Talk to your healthcare professional
• Find the full product monograph that is prepared for healthcare professionals and includes this Patient Medication Information by visiting the Health Canada website (https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/drug-products/drug-product-database.html ); the manufacturer’s website www.sandoz.ca, or by calling 1-800-361-3062.

Last Revised: 2026-01-21