Enhancing epilepsy care in Argentina: Use of SEEG in a developing setting

The aim of this study is to describe a population of patients with drug resistant epilepsy who underwent stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) for epilepsy presurgical evaluation in a high complexity public hospital in Argentina.

We included patients from 2014 to 2023. We conducted a retrospective study of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy admitted to the Video-EEG unit. We selected patients who underwent SEEG and analyzed those patients in whom surgery was performed. The variables studied were MRI findings, epileptogenic zone (EZ) location, type of surgery performed, neuropsychological evaluation, post-surgical evolution and histopathology.

In the study period, 49 patients underwent SEEG. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was normal in 21/49 (43 %). Eighteen patients (37.5 %) had bilateral implantation, 16 (32.7 %) had unilateral right hemisphere implantation and 15 (31.3 %) unilateral left sided implantation. Surgical treatment was indicated in 30 (61,2 %) patients. Post-surgery outcome according to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) classification, was ILAE I 26.6 % and ILAE II 30 %.

Our experience highlights that, with proper training and resource allocation, high-quality epilepsy care, including advanced diagnostic procedures like SEEG, is achievable in Argentina and may be possible in other developing regions.