AUTHOR=Specchio Nicola , Ferretti Alessandro , Pietrafusa Nicola , Trivisano Marina , Calabrese Costanza , Carfì Pavia Giusy , De Benedictis Alessandro , Marras Carlo Efisio , de Palma Luca , Vigevano Federico TITLE=Refractory Status Epilepticus in Genetic Epilepsy—Is Vagus Nerve Stimulation an Option? JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=11 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.00443 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2020.00443 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=

Refractory and super-refractory status epilepticus (RSE, SRSE) are severe conditions that can have long-term neurological consequences with high morbidity and mortality rates. The usefulness of vagus nerve-stimulation (VNS) implantation during RSE has been documented by anecdotal cases and in systematic reviews; however, the use of VNS in RSE has not been widely adopted. We successfully implanted VNS in two patients with genetic epilepsy admitted to hospital for SRSE; detailed descriptions of the clinical findings and VNS parameters are provided. Our patients were implanted 25 and 58 days after status epilepticus (SE) onset, and a stable remission of SE was observed from the seventh and tenth day after VNS implantation, respectively, without change in anti-seizure medication. We used a fast ramp-up of stimulation without evident side effects. Our results support the consideration of VNS implantation as a safe and effective adjunctive treatment for SRSE.