Pre-Operative Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life Two Years After Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Study

It's all about quality: Life after pediatric epilepsy surgery

This review addressed health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with medically refractory epilepsy and the impact of epilepsy surgery on HRQOL. Risk factors for poor HRQOL include the presence of cognitive, emotional or behavioural comorbidities, parental anxiety and depression, lower family socioeconomic status, stress and demands on the family, epilepsy-related variables and anti-seizure medications. Follow-up studies after epilepsy surgery have identified improvements in HRQOL, although findings are variable with respect to which aspects improved and which child, parent and family factors are associated with improvements. The key and consistent predictor is seizure freedom. Further research utilizing longitudinal designs and longer follow-up durations is needed to identify the timing and trajectories of improvements in HRQOL after surgery.

Trajectory of health-related quality of life in parents of children treated with epilepsy surgery versus medical therapy

PURPOSE

Child health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been shown to improve after epilepsy surgery and is linked to parent HRQOL. We postulated that the HRQOL of parents whose children underwent epilepsy surgery would improve over two years compared to those treated with medical therapy. The aim of the study was to evaluate the trajectory of HRQOL of parents whose children received treatment with epilepsy surgery or medical therapy over two years.

METHODS

This multi-center study recruited parents whose children were evaluated for epilepsy surgery. Parents completed measures of care-related QOL (CarerQOL) at the time of their children's surgical evaluation, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years later. Additional measures included parent anxiety and depression, satisfaction with family relationships, family resources and demands, and child clinical variables. A linear mixed model was used to compare the trajectories of parent HRQOL of surgical and medical patients, adjusting for baseline clinical, parent, and family characteristics.

RESULTS

There were 111 children treated with surgery and 154 with medical therapy. The trajectory of parent HRQOL was similar among parents of surgical and medical patients over the two-year follow-up. However, HRQOL of parents of surgical patients was 3.0 points higher (95%CI - 0.1, 6.1) across the follow-up period compared to parents of medical patients. Parents of seizure-free children reported 2.3 points (95%CI 0.2, 4.4) higher HRQOL relative to parents of non-seizure-free children across the two-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Parent HRQOL did not improve after their children were treated with epilepsy surgery, possibly related to ongoing comorbidities in children.