Ictal source localization in presurgical patients with refractory epilepsy.

Source localization of epileptic foci using ictal spatiotemporal dipole modeling (ISDM) yields reliable anatomic information in presurgical candidates. It requires substantial resources from EEG and neuroimaging laboratories. The profile and number of patients who may benefit from it are currently unknown. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the clinical usefulness of source localization in a prospectively analyzed series. One hundred patients (51 male and 49 female patients) with mean age of 31 years (range, 2 to 63 years) and mean duration of refractory epilepsy of 20 years (range, 1 to 49 years) were enrolled consecutively in a presurgical protocol. Ictal EEG was available in 93 patients. ISDM was performed when suitable ictal EEG files were available. The clinical applicability of ISDM was examined in three patients groups: 37 patients in whom ictal EEG recording and MRI were congruent (group I), 30 patients in whom results were not completely congruent but not incongruent (group II), and 26 patients in whom the results were incongruent (group III). ISDM could be performed in 31 of 100 patients: 11 in group I, 8 in group II, and 12 in group III. ISDM influenced decision making in none of the patients in group I, in 4 of 8 patients in group II, and in 10 of 12 patients in group III. Typically, the results of ISDM directed avoiding intracranial EEG recordings in what appeared to be unsuitable candidates for resection by clearly confirming the incongruency between ictal EEG and MRI findings. In this series of 100 presurgical candidates, ictal source localization could be performed in 31% of patients. In 14% of patients, it proved to be a key element in the surgical decision process.