Background: The vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) has been demonstrated to be a safe and effective therapeutic option in patients with drug resistant epilepsy which are not suitable for epileptic surgery.
Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical course, demographic features and overall outcome of a bicentric northern Israeli pediatric implanted VNS patients.
Methods: We reviewed the clinical records of all pediatric patients who had a VNS implantation for intractable epilepsy at two northen israeli hospitals: Rambam and Carmel Medical Centers.
Results: 28 pediatric patients were included of whom 12 were female. Mean age at implantation was 9.5 years. Duration of VNS therapy ranged from 0.5-6 years. Mean age at epilepsy onset was 3 years Twenty patients (71%) were considered responders (seizure reduction ≥50%); 11 (39%) had seizure reduction of ≥75% and 3 were seizure free (10%). 9 patients had Lennox Gastaut syndrome, 6 had genetic confirmed epilepsy, 4 had lesion related epilepsy, 1 had infantile spasms, 1 had childhood absence epilepsy, 1 had myoclonic astatic epilepsy, 6 had cryptogenic epilepsy.
Conclusions: Our bicentric report confirms that VNS is a safe and effective treatment option in children with drug-resistant epilepsy who are not suitable for epileptic surgery.
