Intelligence Quotient Outcome Following Epilepsy Surgery in Pediatric Age – A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

There is a deep-rooted correlation between refractory epilepsy in pediatric age and intelligence development. However, little is known about whether surgical procedures used in pediatric epilepsy treatment can affect Intelligence Quotient (IQ) or not. Factors that might influence postoperative IQ are also a matter of study in several articles. To tackle these issues, a systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted with the terms “epilepsy”, “epileptic”, “surgery”, “surgical”, “Wechsler Scale” and “intelligence tests” in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Clinical Trials.gov. A descriptive data synthesis was carried out to address each of the objectives and then a metaanalysis using a random effects model was conducted. A meta-regression was performed to ascertain possible factors that could influence postoperative IQ. The meta-analysis of the studies included found a mean difference between postoperative and preoperative full-scale IQ values of 1.014 standardized points (p < 0.001). Among all the articles regarding curative surgeries, only three reported an overall significant improvement in IQ after surgery. Regarding palliative procedures, both studies with anterior corpus callosotomy reported a significant improvement in full-scale IQ values two years after surgery. The meta-regression performed did not find any predictors of change in full-scale IQ.