Vagus nerve stimulation in 16 children with refractory epilepsy.
Epilepsia
; 39(8): 809-13, 1998 Aug.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9701369
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been reported to produce >90% reduction in the number of seizures in children with intractable epilepsy. These encouraging results need confirmation.METHODS:
Sixteen children, 10 boys and 6 girls aged 4-19 years, were treated with VNS (Cyberonics, Webster, TX, U.S.A.) for 12-24 months. Seizure frequency, seizure severity, changes in quality of life (QOL visual analogue scale), and side effects were recorded. Eight children had partial and 8 had generalized seizures; 4 of the latter had Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS).RESULTS:
During the tenth to twelfth month of VNS, 6 of 16 children experienced > or =50% reduction in seizure frequency. One girl became seizure-free. Seizure severity showed an average decrease in the score from 15 to 11. After 10 months of treatment, QOL was estimated to have improved > or =50% in 6 of 16 children. Reduction in seizure frequency, decreased seizure severity, and reported improvement in QOL did not entirely coincide. Six children experienced hoarseness, 1 had neck pain, 2 had hypersalivation, 2 experienced tiredness, 2 had aspiration episodes during liquid intake, and 6 had electrical transmission problems; in 4 the problem has been surgically corrected. Five stimulators were turned off due to lack of efficacy.CONCLUSIONS:
Six of 16 children with refractory epilepsy treated with VNS improved, with a reduction not only in seizure frequency but also in seizure severity and in QOL.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Nerf vague
/
Électrothérapie
/
Épilepsie
Type d'étude:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspects:
Patient_preference
Limites:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
Langue:
En
Journal:
Epilepsia
Année:
1998
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
Suède