Find in Library

<p><strong>Objective</strong> To explore the curative effect and parameter settings of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy in refractory epilepsy. <strong>Methods</strong> VNS was performed in 71 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, and McHugh classification was used to evaluate the curative effect of VNS. Programmable pulse parameters included output current, frequency, pulse width, and On/Off times. The optimum settings for each patient should balance the goals of maximizing efficacy, minimizing side effects, and preserving battery life. <strong>Results</strong> After operation, all patients were followed up for 3-56 months (median 22 months), and experienced a significantly reduced seizure frequency compared with before operation [18 (3, 92) vs 30 (5, 145) times/month; <em>Z</em> = 826.500, <em>P </em>= 0.000]. In these patients, 20 cases (28.17% ) had &lt; 50% reduction of seizure frequency, and 51 cases (71.83% ) had ≥ 50% reduction of seizure frequency, including 27 cases (38.03%) with ≥ 80% reduction and 14 cases (19.72%) with seizure free. Seizure termination or seizure diminution was reported in 8 patients (11.27% ) after using magnet. <strong>Conclusions </strong>VNS is a safe and effective therapy in medically refractory epilepsy. Optimized output current is generally 1.00-1.75 mA, however, 0.75 mA is also an efficient current. Besides, parameter settings should be considered to reach the maximizing efficacy.</p><p> </p><p><strong>DOI: </strong>10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2015.09.008</p>