Intelligence quotient (IQ) as a predictor of epilepsy surgery outcome

Epilepsy Treatment Outcome and Its Predictors Among Children Who Had Chronic Follow Up at Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital

Introduction

Epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable disease of the brain that affects millions of people worldwide. A significant number of children are affected globally, and most live in developing countries, often with physical and cognitive disabilities. Regardless of these factors, epilepsy is poorly controlled, particularly in the developing countries. Thus, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of treatment outcomes and its predictors among pediatrics patients with epilepsy who were followed-up at the Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia.

Methods

Hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 June 2022 to 30 August 2022. A total of 200 patients with epilepsy were included in this study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, and by reviewing medical records. The collected data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 25.0. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations were computed. Binary and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Variables with p < 0.25 in bivariate analysis were entered into multivariable logistic regression. In multivariable analysis, adjusted odd ratio with 95% CI and p-value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results

Of 200 pediatric patients with epilepsy, 66 (34.5%) had poor treatment outcomes. In the multivariate analysis, 11-15 years of age (AOR = 4.08; 95% CI = 1.202, 13.848), poor treatment adherence (AOR = 3.21; 95% CI = 1.421, 7.249), history of more seizure frequency before starting treatment (AOR = 4.19; 95% CI = 1.984, 8.834) and history of head injury (AOR = 3.03; 95% CI = 1.502, 6.112) were significantly associated with poor treatment outcomes in pediatric patients with epilepsy.

Conclusion

Significant proportion of pediatric patients with epilepsy had poor treatment outcomes. Therefore, health-care workers should strictly follow patient treatment especially for pediatric epileptic patients' who have poor treatment adherence, more seizure frequency history, head injury history and whose age were 11-15 years old.

Low IQ predicts worse long-term seizure outcome after resective epilepsy surgery - A propensity score matched analysis

OBJECTIVE

To describe long-term seizure outcomes in patients with IQ < 70 undergoing resective epilepsy surgery and to analyse whether baseline IQ predicts seizure outcome.

METHODS

Patients undergoing focal resective epilepsy surgery 1995-2017 at age ≥ 4 years were identified in the population-based Swedish National Epilepsy Surgery Register. Two-year, five-year and long-term (10-20-year follow-up) outcomes were analysed. Seizure outcomes of patients with IQ ≥ 70 and IQ < 70 at baseline were compared in the full cohort and between propensity score matched groups.

RESULTS

Follow-up data were available for 884 patients, 79 of whom had IQ < 70. Matched controls were found for 74 of the IQ < 70 patients. Preoperative MRI pathology was unifocal in 54 % and 79 % of IQ < 70 and IQ ≥ 70 patients before matching compared to 58 % and 62 % after matching, respectively. Patients with IQ < 70 achieved significantly worse seizure outcomes at all time points both when analysing the full cohort and the matched groups. After matching, the proportions of seizure-free patients in the IQ < 70 group were 28 %, 32 % and 32 % at the 2-year, 5-year and long-term follow-ups, respectively. Corresponding figures in the IQ ≥ 70 group were 54 %, 62 % and 60 % (p for difference between IQ groups 0.004, 0.002 and 0.049). In the IQ < 70 group, 36 %, 29 % and 45 % had a ≥ 75 % reduction in seizure frequency at the respective three follow-ups.

CONCLUSION

Low preoperative IQ predicts lower chances of seizure freedom after resective epilepsy surgery and few patients with IQ < 70 remain completely seizure-free in the long term. Nevertheless, a significant proportion had a reduction in seizure frequency of at least 75 % at long-term follow-up, indicating an important palliative potential of resective surgery for epilepsy patients with intellectual disability.