VNS and seizure outcomes in pediatric refractory epilepsy: Systematic review and meta-analysis

This data provides supplemental information for the systematic review and
Meta-analysis. Supplemental tables report the detailed serach strategy
(Supplementary Table 1), details of included studies
(Supplementary Table 2), list of excluded studies (Supplementary
Table 3), 50% Responder Rate in children with
Lennox-Gastaut syndrome after VNS insertion (Supplementary
Table 4), 50% Responder Rate in children with Dravet
syndrome after VNS insertion (Supplementary Table 5), VNS
settings and other seizure outcomes reported in the included studies
(Supplementary Table 6) and Studies reporting a formal Quality of
life (QOL) assessment in children post VNS implantation (Supplementary
Table 7). Supplemental figure 1 (S1) shows the PRISMA flowchart for this
systematic review.  Supplemental Figure
2 (S2): Determinants of Seizure Outcomes. Multivariable
regression showed 50%-RR at last reported follow-up to increase with
increasing age of onset of seizures and decrease with the number of ASMs
tried before VNS implantation (A). Higher 50%-RR 1-year after VNS
implantation was seen in patients with shorter duration of epilepsy and
fewer number of ASM trials (B). Decline in 50%-RR at 1 and 2 year
follow-up in studies with a higher proportion of males (C). Proportion of
seizure free patients at last reported follow-up also decreases with a
greater number of ASM trials before VNS implantation (D). [50%-RR: 50%
Responder Rate, ASM: Anti-seizure Medication, VNS: Vagus Nerve Stimulator;
Bubbles represent individual effect size for studies, lines represent
ordinary least squares regression models, and the shading represents 95%
confidence regions. Supplemental figure 3 (S3): Forest plots for
proportion of seizure free patients. Forest plots for proportion
of patients with 50% responder rate at 6 months (B), 1 year (C) and 2
years (D) follow-up summarizing the pooled effect estimate and
heterogeneity.  Supplemental figure
4 (S4): Forest plots for proportion of seizure free
patients. Forest plots for proportion of seizure free patients at
6 months (B), 1 year (C) and 2 years (D) follow-up summarizing the pooled
effect estimate and heterogeneity.