A survey of preferences and expectations for surgical interventions targeting atonic seizures in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome

Childs Nerv Syst. 2024 Aug;40(8):2491-2495. doi: 10.1007/s00381-024-06397-6. Epub 2024 May 8.

Abstract

Purpose: To assess preferences and outcome expectations for vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and corpus callosotomy (CC) surgeries in the treatment of atonic seizure in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS).

Methods: A total of 260 surveys were collected from patients are caregivers of LGS patients via Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap).

Results: Respondents reported an average acceptable atonic seizure reduction rate of 55.9% following VNS and 74.7% following CC. 21.3% (n = 50) were willing to be randomized. Respondents reported low willingness for randomization and a higher seizure reduction expectation with CC.

Conclusion: Our findings guide surgical approaches for clinicians to consider patient preference in order to design future studies comparing effectiveness between these two procedures.

Keywords: Atonic seizures; Laser ablation; Pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy; Seizure outcomes.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Corpus Callosum / surgery
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Lennox Gastaut Syndrome* / surgery
  • Male
  • Neurosurgical Procedures / methods
  • Patient Preference* / psychology
  • Seizures / psychology
  • Seizures / surgery
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Vagus Nerve Stimulation* / methods
  • Young Adult