[Epilepsy surgery--a superior but underutilized method. Results of an evidence-based Canadian study].
Wiebe and collaborators have conducted a clinical trial in which patients with temporal lobe epilepsy were randomly assigned to surgery or to continued treatment with antiepileptic drugs. At follow-up after one year, 38 percent of patients in the surgery group were completely seizure free compared with 3 percent among the medically treated control patients. The study demonstrates superiority of surgery in the short one-year perspective for selected patients. Swedish register data indicate that epilepsy surgery is underutilized and that patients are referred to assessment for surgery only after several years delay.
Tomson
Torbjörn
T
Neurologiska kliniken, Karolinska sjukhuset, Stockholm. torbjorn.tomson@ks.se
D002170:Canada; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000601:surgery*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D018579:Patient Selection; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012042:Registries; D013548:Sweden; D016896:Treatment Outcome