Intractable childhood epilepsy: choosing between the treatments

Intractable epilepsy is a significant problem affecting approximately 1 in 10 children with seizures. This is traditionally defined as a failure to respond to at least 2 anticonvulsant drugs tried at reasonable doses for several weeks. Although involving a minority of those with epilepsy, these children typically have significant morbidity, detrimental effects on quality of life, and often require hours of time from a child neurologist in their care. In this review and special issue, a practical approach to management options for children who have refractory epilepsy will be presented from experts in the field.