Musa M Watila1, Fenglai Xiao2, Mark R Keezer3, Anna Miserocchi4, Andrea S Winkler5, Andrew W McEvoy4, Josemir W Sander6. 1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK; Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy, Chalfont St Peter SL9 0RJ, UK; Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, PMB 1414, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. 2. Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK; Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Magnetic Resonance Imaging Unit, Epilepsy Society, Gerrards Cross, UK. 3. Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK; Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy, Chalfont St Peter SL9 0RJ, UK; Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), Hôpital Notre-Dame, Montréal, Québec H2L 4M1, Canada; Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland (SEIN), Achterweg 5, 2103 SW Heemstede, Netherlands. 4. Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK; Department of Neurosurgery, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, UK. 5. Centre for Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Kirkeveien 166, 0450 Oslo, Norway; Center for Global Health, Department of Neurology, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Strasse 22, 81675 Munich, Germany. 6. Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK; Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy, Chalfont St Peter SL9 0RJ, UK; Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland (SEIN), Achterweg 5, 2103 SW Heemstede, Netherlands. Electronic address: l.sander@ucl.ac.uk.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Epilepsy surgery is an important treatment option for people with drug-resistant epilepsy. Surgical procedures for epilepsy are underutilized worldwide, but it is far worse in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), and it is less clear as to what extent people with drug-resistant epilepsy receive such treatment at all. Here, we review the existing evidence for the availability and outcome of epilepsy surgery in LMIC and discuss some challenges and priority. METHODS: We used an accepted six-stage methodological framework for scoping reviews as a guide. We searched PubMed, Embase, Global Health Archives, Index Medicus for South East Asia Region (IMSEAR), Index Medicus for Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR), Latin American & Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), African Journal Online (AJOL), and African Index Medicus (AIM) to identify the relevant literature. RESULTS: We retrieved 148 articles on epilepsy surgery from 31 countries representing 22% of the 143 LMIC. Epilepsy surgery appears established in some of these centers in Asia and Latin America while some are in their embryonic stage reporting procedures in a small cohort performed mostly by motivated neurosurgeons. The commonest surgical procedure reported was temporal lobectomies. The postoperative seizure-free rates and quality of life (QOL) are comparable with those in the high-income countries (HIC). Some models have shown that epilepsy surgery can be performed within a resource-limited setting through collaboration with international partners and through the use of information and communications technology (ICT). The cost of surgery is a fraction of what is available in HIC. CONCLUSION: This review has demonstrated the availability of epilepsy surgery in a few LMIC. The information available is inadequate to make any reasonable conclusion of its existence as routine practice. Collaborations with international partners can provide an opportunity to bring high-quality academic training and technological transfer directly to surgeons working in these regions and should be encouraged.
BACKGROUND:Epilepsy surgery is an important treatment option for people with drug-resistant epilepsy. Surgical procedures for epilepsy are underutilized worldwide, but it is far worse in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), and it is less clear as to what extent people with drug-resistant epilepsy receive such treatment at all. Here, we review the existing evidence for the availability and outcome of epilepsy surgery in LMIC and discuss some challenges and priority. METHODS: We used an accepted six-stage methodological framework for scoping reviews as a guide. We searched PubMed, Embase, Global Health Archives, Index Medicus for South East Asia Region (IMSEAR), Index Medicus for Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR), Latin American & Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), African Journal Online (AJOL), and African Index Medicus (AIM) to identify the relevant literature. RESULTS: We retrieved 148 articles on epilepsy surgery from 31 countries representing 22% of the 143 LMIC. Epilepsy surgery appears established in some of these centers in Asia and Latin America while some are in their embryonic stage reporting procedures in a small cohort performed mostly by motivated neurosurgeons. The commonest surgical procedure reported was temporal lobectomies. The postoperative seizure-free rates and quality of life (QOL) are comparable with those in the high-income countries (HIC). Some models have shown that epilepsy surgery can be performed within a resource-limited setting through collaboration with international partners and through the use of information and communications technology (ICT). The cost of surgery is a fraction of what is available in HIC. CONCLUSION: This review has demonstrated the availability of epilepsy surgery in a few LMIC. The information available is inadequate to make any reasonable conclusion of its existence as routine practice. Collaborations with international partners can provide an opportunity to bring high-quality academic training and technological transfer directly to surgeons working in these regions and should be encouraged.