Vagus nerve stimulation therapy improves quality of life in patients with intractable postencephalitic epilepsy, a study of five patients

摘要

Introduction: To evaluate the utility of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy for patients with intractable postencephalitic epilepsy in the reduction of seizure frequency and quality of life (QOL). Methods: We studied five patients with intractable postencephalitic epilepsy, the age ranged from 21 to 46 years. QOL of the patients was evaluated with the questionnaire, QOLIE-31-P. Results: VNS therapy improved seizure frequency in four patients (80%). One patient (20%) had no reduction of seizure frequency. Three patients had improvements in QOLIE-31-P (p 0.024) and became socially independent. Two other patients continued to be dependent, and have lesser degree of improvements in their QOLIE-31-P scores. Conclusion: VNS is effective for patients with intractable postencephalitic epilepsy and is able to improve the QOL.