An ordinal clinical score predicts seizure freedom after minimally invasive epilepsy surgery
An ordinal clinical score predicts seizure freedom after minimally invasive epilepsy surgery

An ordinal clinical score predicts seizure freedom after minimally invasive epilepsy surgery

Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2024 Jul 12. doi: 10.1002/acn3.52146. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To predict one-year seizure freedom, using a combination of relevant clinical variables, following stereotactic laser amygdalohippocampotomy for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy in a series of 101 patients.

METHODS: Eight predictors of seizure freedom were selected based on their association with medial temporal lobe epilepsy: (1) MRI evidence of mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS); (2) unitemporal interictal epileptiform discharges; (3) absence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures; (4) history of febrile seizures; (5) onset of epilepsy ≤16 years; (6) absence of an auditory, visual, or vertiginous aura; and (7) unitemporal ictal onset; (8) unitemporal PET hypometabolism. We compared four multivariate models: “MTS,” using just evidence of MTS; “FULL,” using all eight binary predictors; “AIC” using backwards selection of variables; and “SCORE,” using a 0-to-8-point ordinal score awarding one point for each binary predictor.

RESULTS: In univariate analysis, significant predictors for seizure freedom were evidence of mesial temporal sclerosis (p = 0.011, Fisher exact) and unitemporal interictal discharges (p = 0.005). For multivariate prediction (using leave one-out cross-validation), the ordinal SCORE model had a significantly higher area under the curve (AUC 0.70) than the other three models: MTS (AUC 0.54, p = 0.002, Delong’s test), FULL (AUC 0.62, p = 0.003), or AIC (AUC 0.53, p < 0.001).

INTERPRETATION: An ordinal score incorporating eight independent binary clinical variables predicted seizure freedom better on novel data than a model using MTS alone, a full multivariate model, or a backwards selected model. The ordinal score model represents a simple clinical heuristic to identify which patients should be offered minimally invasive laser surgery.

PMID:39001603 | DOI:10.1002/acn3.52146