Objectives: This retrospective cohort study investigated the clinical characteristics and seizure outcomes of patients aged 1–14 years with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) who were treated by different typologies of therapy. Methods: Four hundred and eighteen children with DRE were recruited from Sanbo Brain Hospital of Capital Medical University from April 2008 to February 2015. The patients were divided into three groups: medication (n = 134, 32.06%), resection surgery (n = 185, 44.26%), and palliative surgery (n = 99, 23.68%) groups. Demographic characteristics were attained from medical records. All patients were followed up for at least 5 years, with seizure outcomes classified according to International League Against Epilepsy criteria. The psychological outcome was evaluated with the development quotient and Wechsler Intelligence Quotient Scale for children (Chinese version). Results: The most frequent seizure type was generalized tonic seizure in 53.83% of patients. Age at seizure onset in 54.55% of patients was <3 years. The most frequent etiologies were focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). West syndrome was the most common epilepsy syndrome. Favorable seizure outcomes at the 5-year follow-up in the medication, resection surgery, and palliative surgery groups were 5.22%, 77.30%, and 14.14%, respectively. The patients showed varying degrees of improvement in terms of developmental and intellectual outcomes post-treatment. Conclusions: Pediatric patients with DRE were characterized by frequent seizures, a variety of seizure types, and complex etiology. Recurrent seizures severely affected the cognitive function and development of children. Early surgical intervention would be beneficial for seizure control and prevention of mental retardation. Palliative surgery was also a reasonable option for patients who were not suitable candidates for resection surgery.
Objective: To determine the predictors and the long-term outcomes of patients with seizures following surgery for dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (DNTs); Methods: Clinical data were collected from medical records of consecutive patients of the Department of Neurosurgery of Sanbo Brain Hospital of Capital Medical University with a pathological diagnosis of DNT and who underwent surgery from January 2008 to July 2021. All patients were followed up after surgery for at least one year. We estimated the cumulative rate of seizure recurrence-free and generated survival curves. A log-rank (Mantel–Cox) test and a Cox proportional hazard model were performed for univariate and multivariate analysis to analyze influential predictors; Results: 63 patients (33 males and 30 females) were included in this study. At the final follow-up, 49 patients (77.8%) were seizure-free. The cumulative rate of seizure recurrence-free was 82.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 71.8–91.3%), 79.0% (95% CI 67.8–88.6%) and 76.5% (95% CI 64.8–87.0%) at 2, 5, and 10 years, respectively. The mean time for seizure recurrence-free was 6.892 ± 0.501 years (95% CI 5.91–7.87). Gross total removal of the tumor and a short epilepsy duration were significant predictors of seizure freedom. Younger age of seizure onset, bilateral interictal epileptiform discharges, and MRI type 3 tumors were risk factors for poor prognosis; Conclusions: A favorable long-term seizure outcome was observed for patients with DNT after surgical resection. Predictor analysis could effectively guide the clinical work and evaluate the prognosis of patients with DNT associated with epilepsy.