Proportion of resected seizure onset zone contacts in pediatric stereoEEG-guided resective surgery does not correlate with outcome

Objective: We aimed to determine whether the proportion of putative seizure onset zone (SOZ) contacts resected associates with seizure outcome in a cohort of children undergoing stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG)-guided resective epilepsy surgery. Methods: Patients who underwent SEEG-guided resective surgery over a six-year period were included. The proportion of SOZ contacts resected was determined by co-registration of pre- and post-operative imaging. Outcome was classified as seizure free (SF, Engel class I) or not seizure-free (NSF, Engel class II-IV) at last clinical follow-up. Results: Twenty-nine patients underwent resection of whom 22 had sufficient imaging data for analysis (median age at surgery of 10 years, range 5-18). Fifteen (68.2%) were SF at median follow-up of 19.5 months (range 12-46). On univariate analysis, histopathology, was the only significant factor associated with SF (p < 0.05). The percentage of defined SOZ contacts resected ranged from 25-100% and was not associated with SF (p = 0.89). In a binary logistic regression model, it was highly likely that histology was the only independent predictor of outcome. Conclusions: The percentage of SOZ contacts resected was not associated with SF in children undergoing SEEG-guided resective epilepsy surgery. Significance: Factors such as spatial organisation of the epileptogenic zone, neurophysiological biomarkers and the prospective identification of pathological tissue may therefore play an important role. (c) 2022 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.