title: [Retrospective analysis of the effect of a vagus nerve stimulator implanted in paediatric patients with refractory epilepsy].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The vagus nerve stimulator is a therapeutic alternative in patients with epilepsy which is refractory to treatment with antiepileptic drugs that are not candidates for surgical resection.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To analyse the effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulator in the paediatric patients of our centre.
  
  
  METHODS
  Set of 13 patients implanted between 2008 y 2013. It was registered the frequency of crises prior to implantation, after a year and at the end of the monitoring period. As well, it was recorded the number of antiepileptic drugs used and in a qualitative way the behavioural improvement and the change in the intensity of the crises, besides the apparition of secondary effects and the removal or not of the device.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After a year, two years and at the end of the monitoring period it has been a fall in the number of crises about of 61%, 66.7% y 69% respectively, finding one patient free of crises after two years. At the end of the monitoring period, the 23% of those who had reduced their crises had experimented a reduction over 90%. Independently the effect on the number of crises, 77% of the patients presented an improvement in the intensity and the length of the crises, the same average showed a behavioural improvement. The secondary effects appeared in a 30.7% of the patients, being of mild intensity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the small size of our sample, our results shows that the vagus nerve stimulator has a relevant efficacy over the pediatric drug resistant population, as much in the frequency and intensity of the crises, as over the behaviour.
authors.affiliation: Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Espana.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fuentes-Pita
authors.affiliation: Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Espana.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gomez-Lado
authors.affiliation: Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Espana.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dacruz
authors.affiliation: Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Espana.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eiris-Punal
authors.affiliation: Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Espana.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prieto-Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Espana.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castro-Gago
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D002648:Child; D000069279:Drug Resistant Epilepsy / Q000628:therapy*; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014630:Vagus Nerve; D055536:Vagus Nerve Stimulation
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants