[Vagus nerve stimulation for refractory epilepsy]
Pichon Riviere A, Augustovski F, Garcia Marti S, Glujovsky D, Lopez A, Rey-Ares L, Bardach A, Regueiro A, Alcaraz A, Valanzasca P, Elorriaga N, Romano M, Rojas J
Record ID 32011000960
Spanish
Authors' objectives:
This report evaluates VNS in refractory epileptic patients.
Authors' recommendations:
Most studies evaluating VNS were conducted in a subgroup of patients with refractory epilepsy who continued having daily seizures and who were not eligible for surgery. The identified studies describe that vagus nerve stimulation is a complementary treatment with few severe side effects in this type of patients. In general, it is considered as a palliative procedure since, in the studied subgroup and depending on the type of epilepsy, 30-50% achieves 50% or higher reduction in the frequency of seizures. Although VNS may lessen the number of seizures in some patients, so far, there is no evidence to indicate that this would reflect a reduction in associated morbidity and mortality or significant quality of life improvement. Ultimately, for those patients with refractory epilepsy who have daily seizures and who are not eligible for surgery, the decision of using vagus nerve stimulation may be a therapeutic alternative.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
URL for project:
http://www.iecs.org.ar/iecs-visor-publicacion.php?cod_publicacion=525&origen_publicacion=publicaciones
Year Published:
2011
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Argentina
MeSH Terms
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Contact
Organisation Name:
Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy
Contact Address:
Dr. Emilio Ravignani 2024, Buenos Aires - Argentina, C1414 CABA
Contact Name:
info@iecs.org.ar
Contact Email:
info@iecs.org.ar
Copyright:
Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.