Quality of life after vagus nerve stimulation for intractable epilepsy: is seizure control the only contributing factor?

We assessed the impact of vagus nerve stimulation on a cohort of patients with intractable epilepsy. A 1-year prospective trial of vagus nerve stimulation for intractable epilepsy was done in 26 patients. Seizure frequency, anti-epileptic drugs, and quality of life were assessed using QOLIE-89, ELDQOL, and a Likert scale of impact of treatment. Seizures were reduced by more than 50% in 19% of the patients, by less than 50% in 46%, and were unchanged in 35% of them. Antiepileptic drugs were reduced in 43% of the patients. There was a significant improvement in the mean overall QOLIE-89 score and other measures of quality of life, but these did not correlate with changes in seizure frequency. Subjective improvement occurred in 84% of the patients. The quality of life improves in some patients following vagus nerve stimulation for intractable epilepsy. The favorable effects of this treatment may be attributable to additional factors besides seizure control which in this study was modest.