Photo Credit: Gorodenkoff

New research was presented at AES 2023, the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society, held December 1-5. This is the fifth of 5 studies presented during the conference that PW has selected to highlight.

In previous research, Sandi K. Lam, MD, MBA, and colleagues found that survival was significantly higher for pediatric patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) who underwent cranial surgery. For a follow-up study, Dr. Lam and colleagues examined factors associated with receiving surgical treatment, including vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) or cranial epilepsy surgery, among 18,292 pediatric patients with DRE. Most (n=10,240) were treated with antiseizure medications alone; 5,019 received antiseizure medications and vagus nerve stimulation, and 3,033 were treated with antiseizure medications and cranial epilepsy surgery. The researchers reported significant differences across groups in age, geographic region, race/ethnicity, diagnosis, and insurance type. Those who underwent surgery were two years older than those who were treated with antiseizure medications alone. Patients who received antiseizure medications only were less likely to be White (51.78%), have focal/partial epilepsy (8.74%), and have private health insurance (35.82%). “For the first time, we measured the impact of treatments for [DRE] in children and found that surgical care is associated with longer survival, and yet there are disparities in who gets this care,” Dr. Lam said in a press release. “Further research is needed to understand and inform the development of focused strategies to improve access to epilepsy surgery and multidisciplinary management for all children with drug-resistant epilepsy.”