The cost-effective use of 18F-FDG PET in the presurgical evaluation of medically refractory focal epilepsy

Abstract

This study applied decision tree analysis to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and cost-effectiveness of clinical algorithms that incorporate 18F-FDG PET. Methods: A cohort of 176 patients was studied. The localization rate, accuracy, therapeutic impact on the presurgical decision-making process, and correlation with the postsurgical outcome were assessed for the tests commonly performed for seizure localization. Decision tree sensitivity analysis compared 3 imaging strategies with a baseline strategy of medical therapy for all: video-electroencephalography monitoring (VEM)/MRI strategy, in which patients underwent VEM and brain MRI only, and +SPECT and +PET strategies, in which patient..