Vagus nerve stimulation for focal seizures The aim of this | Figure 1
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Vagus nerve stimulation for focal seizures
The aim of this review was to find the current evidence on how effective vagus nerve stimulation is in reducing the frequency of epileptic seizures, and any side effects associated with the treatment.
We included five multicentre, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) which recruited a total of 439 participants, and compared different types of VNS therapy. Three compared high‐level stimulation to low‐level stimulation in participants from 12 to 60 years old. One trial examined high frequency stimulation versus low frequency stimulation in children. One trial examined three different stimulation frequencies.
What did we find?
VNS seems to be an effective treatment for people with intractable focal epilepsy. High‐level stimulation seems to reduce the number of seizures people had compared to low‐level stimulation.
Common side effects were voice alteration and hoarseness, pain, shortness of breath, cough, feeling sickly, tingling sensation, headache, or infection at the site of the operation. Shortness of breath, voice alteration and hoarseness were more common in people receiving high‐level stimulation compared to people receiving low‐level stimulation.
What are the limitations of the evidence?
The evidence for the effectiveness and side effects of VNS therapy was limited and imprecise. There were a small number of studies and participants included in the review, and details about the design and conduct of the trials was sometimes lacking. We rated the evidence as moderate or low certainty. This means that further research is likely, or very likely, to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of the effect, and may change the estimate.