Predictors of outcome of surgery in adults with mesial lesional temporal lobe epilepsy

Outcome of epilepsy surgery in lesional epilepsy: Experiences from a developing country

BACKGROUND

Our aim was to report the postoperative seizure outcome and associated factors in patients with lesional epilepsy, in a low-income setting.

METHODS

This longitudinal prospective study included patients who underwent epilepsy surgery at Kashani Comprehensive Epilepsy Center between 2014 and 2019. Post-surgical outcomes were reported according to the Engel score, and patients were classified into two groups of seizure free (SF) and not-seizure free (NSF).

RESULTS

A total of 148 adult patients, with a mean age of 30.45 ± 9.23 years were included. The SF outcome was reported in 86.5% of patients and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were reduced or discontinued in 45.9%. The mean follow-up duration was 26.7 ± 14.9 months. Temporal lobe lesions (76.3%) and mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) (56.7%) were the most frequent etiologies. Temporal lesion (Incidence relative risk (IRR): 1.76, 95% CI [1.08-2.87], p = 0.023), prior history of CNS infection (IRR:1.18, 95% CI [1.03-1.35], p = 0.019), use of intra-operative ECoG (IRR:1.73, 95% CI [1.06-2.81], p = 0.028), and absence of IEDs in postoperative EEG (IRR: 1.41, 95% CI [1.18-1.70], p < 0.001) were positive predictors for a favorable outcome.

CONCLUSION

Many patients with drug-resistant lesional epilepsy showed a favorable response to surgery. We believe that resective epilepsy surgery in low-income settings is a major treatment option. The high frequency of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy in developing countries is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Hence, strategies to increase access to epilepsy surgery in these settings are urgently needed.

Surgical versus medical treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Surgery and drug therapy are the two main treatments for refractory epilepsy. However, to date, there has not been an adequate comparison of the outcomes of these two treatments. This systematic review compared the overall outcome of surgery and medical treatment in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

METHODS

Articles published in Embase, Medline, Pubmed, and the Cochrane library were searched from their inception until June 2016.

RESULTS

Twenty of the eighty-one (24.7%) full-text articles reviewed fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Of 1800 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, 526 of 923 patients (57.0%) in the surgery group were seizure-free compared with 134 of 877 patients (15.3%) in the medical treatment group (19 studies, risk ratio (RR)=3.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) [2.75-5.03]; P<0.00001, I²=53%). In addition, more patients were off antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in the surgical group (3 studies, n=438, RR=4.76, 95% CI [2.21, 10.28], P<0.0001, I²=0%). Although different studies used different questionnaires to assess patient quality of life (QOL) in both treatment groups, the overall postintervention QOL scores were higher in the surgery than in the medical treatment group, by SMD (6 studies, n=459, SMD=0.61, 95% CI [0.23, 0.98], P=0.002, I²=66%).

CONCLUSION

As the complications of interventions, declines in memory, and word recall/naming were not assessed in the meta-analysis, the conclusions are limited to seizure-free, AED use, and QOL. The current evidence indicate that compared with medical treatment, surgery is more likely to achieve seizure-free, off AEDs, and better QOL.