Interpersonal communication skills related to seizure outcomes in pediatric patients with vagus nerve stimulation

Abstract Objective Various clinical parameters have been reported to be associated with favorable seizure outcomes after vagus nerve stimulation (VNS); however, none of these parameters have been conclusively validated. Here, we evaluated interpersonal communication skills (IPCS) and seizure outcomes in pediatric patients treated with VNS. Methods We enrolled 31 Japanese pediatric patients (mean ± SD: 9.0 ± 3.4 years old, range: 3–15 years old) who were treated with VNS and had at least 2 years of follow-up. We divided the patients into two groups: a responder group with ≥50% seizure reduction from the average number of seizures 2 months before VNS; and a nonresponder group with Results We found significantly favorable seizure outcomes (≥50% seizure reduction) in 12 of 19 (63.2%) patients with IPCS after 2-year VNS compared with one of 12 (8.3%) patients without ICPS (p = 0.0031, Fisher exact test). IPCS showed an odds ratio of 14.6 (95% CI, 1.9–318) and a significant correlation with a favorable seizure outcome (p = 0.0077) in binominal logistic regression analysis. Conclusion Feasible evaluation of IPCS by clinicians might predict the seizure outcome more than 2 years after VNS implantation in a pediatric population.