Aurora BioScience Neurology

VNS Therapy for Pharmacoresistant Epilepsy

 

This resource is intended to provide specific information regarding VNS Therapy™ and pharmacoresistant epilepsy for physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

 

 

A large prevalence study of cost utilisation of epilepsy in the UK published in Epilepsia showed that the cost of epilepsy care was significantly higher in patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy. In patients with uncontrolled seizures, the greatest direct healthcare cost is that of providing hospital-based care. The author suggested that optimising seizure control might reduce the cost of epilepsy both to society and to the person with epilepsy.¹

Economic studies have shown that VNS Therapy provides favourable health economics in patients with pharmacoresistant seizures by reducing costs of hospital-based care.

A prospective study published in Epilepsia, comparing the epilepsy-related direct medical costs associated with three treatments, including VNS Therapy, demonstrated that VNS Therapy resulted in significant reductions in seizures, hospital admission days and epilepsy related direct medical costs.²

 

 

 

 

 

Another study published in Neurology evaluated the number of unplanned visits to the medical, surgery or neurology ward; emergency room (ER) and intensive care unit (ICU) of patients receiving VNS Therapy. The results showed that ICU costs, ER visits and ward stays were reduced in both responders and nonresponders, and that the cost reductions occurred irrespective of seizure reduction. The author concluded that the purchase price of the VNS Therapy System can be amortised over 2-3 years.³

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¹Jacoby A et al. Epilepsia. 1998;39(7):776-786.
²Boon P et al. Epilepsia. 2002; 43:96-102.
³Ben-Menachem et al. Neurology. 2002; 59(6) suppl.4:S44-S47.