Tags

Type your tag names separated by a space and hit enter

Cost-benefit of vagus nerve stimulation for refractory epilepsy.
Acta Neurol Belg. 1999 Dec; 99(4):275-80.AN

Abstract

PURPOSE

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established treatment for patients with medically refractory epilepsy who are unsuitable candidates for conventional epilepsy surgery. VNS requires an initial financial investment but apart from our own previous study there are no reports on cost-benefit published to date. The purpose of this paper is to assess prospectively the cost-benefit ratio of VNS in a series of patients with long term follow-up.

METHODS

Our experience with VNS comprises 25 patients of whom 20 with sufficient follow-up will be further discussed. These 20 patients have a mean post-implantation follow-up of 26 months (range: 6-50 months). Mean age was 30 years (range: 12-45 years); mean duration of epilepsy 17 years (range: 5-35 years). We prospectively assessed seizure frequency, prescribed AEDs, number of hospital admission days and side effects and calculated the epilepsy related direct medical cost and compared this with pre-implantation data.

RESULTS

Mean seizure frequency decreased from 14 seizures/month (range: 2-40) to 9 seizures/month (range: 0-30) (p = 0.0003). The mean yearly epilepsy related direct medical costs per patient dropped from 6,682 USD (range: 829-21,888 USD) to 3,635 USD (range: 684-12,486 USD) (p = 0.0046). The mean number of hospital admission days was reduced from 16 days/year (range: 0-60) to 4 days/year (range: 0-30) (p = 0.0029).

CONCLUSION

VNS is an efficacious and cost-beneficial treatment for refractory partial seizures.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Boon P
Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Gent, Belgium.
Vonck K
No affiliation info available
D'Have M
No affiliation info available
O'Connor S
No affiliation info available
Vandekerckhove T
No affiliation info available
De Reuck J
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdolescentAdultChildCost-Benefit AnalysisElectric Stimulation TherapyEpilepsyFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeVagus Nerve

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

10674145

Citation

Boon, P, et al. "Cost-benefit of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Refractory Epilepsy." Acta Neurologica Belgica, vol. 99, no. 4, 1999, pp. 275-80.
Boon P, Vonck K, D'Have M, et al. Cost-benefit of vagus nerve stimulation for refractory epilepsy. Acta Neurol Belg. 1999;99(4):275-80.
Boon, P., Vonck, K., D'Have, M., O'Connor, S., Vandekerckhove, T., & De Reuck, J. (1999). Cost-benefit of vagus nerve stimulation for refractory epilepsy. Acta Neurologica Belgica, 99(4), 275-80.
Boon P, et al. Cost-benefit of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Refractory Epilepsy. Acta Neurol Belg. 1999;99(4):275-80. PubMed PMID: 10674145.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Cost-benefit of vagus nerve stimulation for refractory epilepsy. AU - Boon,P, AU - Vonck,K, AU - D'Have,M, AU - O'Connor,S, AU - Vandekerckhove,T, AU - De Reuck,J, PY - 2000/2/16/pubmed PY - 2000/3/18/medline PY - 2000/2/16/entrez SP - 275 EP - 80 JF - Acta neurologica Belgica JO - Acta Neurol Belg VL - 99 IS - 4 N2 - PURPOSE: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established treatment for patients with medically refractory epilepsy who are unsuitable candidates for conventional epilepsy surgery. VNS requires an initial financial investment but apart from our own previous study there are no reports on cost-benefit published to date. The purpose of this paper is to assess prospectively the cost-benefit ratio of VNS in a series of patients with long term follow-up. METHODS: Our experience with VNS comprises 25 patients of whom 20 with sufficient follow-up will be further discussed. These 20 patients have a mean post-implantation follow-up of 26 months (range: 6-50 months). Mean age was 30 years (range: 12-45 years); mean duration of epilepsy 17 years (range: 5-35 years). We prospectively assessed seizure frequency, prescribed AEDs, number of hospital admission days and side effects and calculated the epilepsy related direct medical cost and compared this with pre-implantation data. RESULTS: Mean seizure frequency decreased from 14 seizures/month (range: 2-40) to 9 seizures/month (range: 0-30) (p = 0.0003). The mean yearly epilepsy related direct medical costs per patient dropped from 6,682 USD (range: 829-21,888 USD) to 3,635 USD (range: 684-12,486 USD) (p = 0.0046). The mean number of hospital admission days was reduced from 16 days/year (range: 0-60) to 4 days/year (range: 0-30) (p = 0.0029). CONCLUSION: VNS is an efficacious and cost-beneficial treatment for refractory partial seizures. SN - 0300-9009 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/10674145/Cost_benefit_of_vagus_nerve_stimulation_for_refractory_epilepsy_ L2 - http://www.diseaseinfosearch.org/result/2593 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -