History of Cerebrovascular Events: A Relative Contraindication to Ertapenem Treatment

A safety analysis of meropenem, including data from 46 clinical trials involving hospitalized patients, has shown that the incidence of seizures during treatment exposures in patients with infections other than meningitis was 0.46% for the total number of seizures and 0.08% for drug-related seizures [5]. Of 2046 patients enrolled in 5 Phase IIa and 8 Phase IIb/III clinical trials who were treated with 1 g of ertapenem, seizures were rare (0.2%-0.5% of patients); almost all patients who experienced a seizure had an underlying CNS disease or a known seizure disorder [1].