Sodium Valproate & Topiramate Monitoring

Sodium Valproate and Topiramate are medicines which have been identified by the MHRA as having potentially harmful effects to neonates if taken during pregnancy or prior to conception. These reports monitor the number of patients to whom Sodium Valproate and Topiramate has been prescribed and dispensed in order to help support the reduction of Sodium Valproate and Topiramate use among relevant groups.

The tables and accompanying dashboard that form this report aim to identify the number of male and female patients, including those of child bearing age, that have received prescriptions from their GP for Sodium Valproate or Topiramate. This data will be produced every 3 months to contribute to the monitoring of effectiveness of actions to ensure safe and appropriate use of Sodium Valproate and Topiramate in Northern Ireland.

The statistics will be released on this page at 9.30am. If you have issues accessing the information it can also be found on the gov.uk site.

For more information on why this is important, particularly if you are female and taking Sodium Valproate, view the gov.uk toolkit on the risks of valproate medicines in female patients, or female and taking Topiramate, visit the gov.uk drug safety update on the risks of topiramate medicines in female patients.

The Sodium Valproate and Topiramate Monitoring Dashboard, published for the first time in May 2026, presents the figures of the five indicators contained within the published tables in interactive visuals. This dashboard combines the information previously presented in separate dashboards for both medicines into one easy to access source, allowing users to easily navigate between medicine of interest, as well as focusing on specific areas of interest, such as age group, gender or area in each of the five indicators.