Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Pediatric and Adult Patients with Pharmaco-resistant Epilepsy

Over past two decades, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been widely used and reported to alleviate seizure frequency worldwide, however, so far, only hundreds of patients with pharmaco-resistant epilepsy (PRE) have been treated with VNS in mainland China. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of VNS for Chinese patients with PRE and compare its relationship with age cohort and gender.

We retrospectively assessed the clinical outcome of 94 patients with PRE, who were treated with VNS at Beijing Fengtai Hospital and Beijing Tiantan Hospital between November 2008 and April 2014 from our database of 106 consecutive patients. The clinical data analysis was retrospectively examined.

Seizure frequency significantly decreased with VNS therapy after intermittent stimulation of the vagus nerve. At last follow-up, we found McHugh classifications of Class I in 33 patients (35.1%), Class II in 27 patients (28.7%), Class III in 20 patients (21.3%), Class IV in 3 patients (3.2%), and Class V in 11 patients (11.7%). Notably, 8 (8.5%) patients were seizure-free while ≥50% seizure frequency reduction occurred in as many as 60 patients (63.8%). Furthermore, with regard to the modified Engel classification, 12 patients (12.8%) were classified as Class I, 11 patients (11.7%) were classified as Class II, 37 patients (39.4%) were classified as Class III, 34 patients (36.2%) were classified as Class IV. We also found that the factors of gender or age are not associated with clinical outcome.

This comparative study confirmed that VNS is a safe, well-tolerated, and effective treatment for Chinese PRE patients. VNS reduced the seizure frequency regardless of age or gender of studied patients.