Effectiveness of a Ketogenic Diet in Children with Refractory Epilepsy: A Systemic Review

Abstract

A notable proportion (10%-20%) of children with
epilepsy remain unresponsive to pharmacological
treatment. Current strategies for the management of
refractory epilepsy encompass surgical treatments
(vagus nerve stimulation) as well as the adoption of a
Ketogenic Diet. By adhering to the Preferred Reporting
Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
guidelines, we conducted a systematic review to identify
all relevant studies in English language that investigated
the effectiveness of a Ketogenic diet in children with
refractory epilepsy. A total of 125 studies were identified
and eight, involving a total of 1330 patients, met the
criteria. Of the identified eight studies, one was
randomized controlled trial, one was systematic
review/meta-analysis, and the rest were observational
studies. More than half (54%) of the participants
reported seizure resolution, while 17% became seizure
free after one month of initiating the ketogenic diet.
Ketogenic diet have been shown to be efficacious for the
treatment of epilepsy in infants.