Anna-MaijaLahti, Doctor, University of Ouluanna-maija.lahti@student.oulu.fi
Seppo Juvela, Helsinki; Sami Tetri, Matti Hillbom, Oulu, Finland;
Submitted August 01, 2017
We thank Dr. Zelano for the comments on our article, [1] and for bringing his study to our attention. Unfortunately, the results from this register-based Swedish cohort study [2] were unavailable: the article could not be found through PubMed nor Medline searches, and was published online only slightly before our manuscript was sent for review.
Unlike Zelano et al, we excluded subjects with known prior head trauma, vascular malformations, and other possible secondary causes for intracerebral hemorrhage. [1] Also, their cut-off time point for acute vs late seizures was 7 (vs 14) days, and the median follow-up was slightly shorter (4.8 vs 6.4 years). [1, 2] Instead of register data, our study was based on clinical follow-up of a defined epilepsy population, providing more accurate follow-up data, particularly because our hospital is the only one in the area treating epilepsy patients. [1] However, the data collected and the follow-up protocol used in the Swedish register were very similar to ours. [3]
The study by Zelano et al. focused on assessing the prognosis of patients with poststroke epilepsy. Our newest data regarding poststroke epilepsy and mortality has not yet been published, but we look forward to comparing our upcoming results with those of our colleagues.
1. Lahti AM, Saloheimo P, Huhtakangas J, et al. Poststroke epilepsy in long-term survivors of primary intracerebral hemorrhage. Neurology 2017;88:2169-2175.
2. Zelano J, Redfors P, Asberg S, Kumlien E. Association between poststroke epilepsy and death: A nationwide cohort study. Euro Stroke J 2016;1:272-278.
3. Methods. In: Rikstroke: the Swedish Stroke Register [online]. Available at:
www.riksstroke.org/method/. Accessed July 24, 2017.
For disclosures, please contact the editorial office at journal@neurology.org.
We thank Dr. Zelano for the comments on our article, [1] and for bringing his study to our attention. Unfortunately, the results from this register-based Swedish cohort study [2] were unavailable: the article could not be found through PubMed nor Medline searches, and was published online only slightly before our manuscript was sent for review.
Unlike Zelano et al, we excluded subjects with known prior head trauma, vascular malformations, and other possible secondary causes for intracerebral hemorrhage. [1] Also, their cut-off time point for acute vs late seizures was 7 (vs 14) days, and the median follow-up was slightly shorter (4.8 vs 6.4 years). [1, 2] Instead of register data, our study was based on clinical follow-up of a defined epilepsy population, providing more accurate follow-up data, particularly because our hospital is the only one in the area treating epilepsy patients. [1] However, the data collected and the follow-up protocol used in the Swedish register were very similar to ours. [3]
The study by Zelano et al. focused on assessing the prognosis of patients with poststroke epilepsy. Our newest data regarding poststroke epilepsy and mortality has not yet been published, but we look forward to comparing our upcoming results with those of our colleagues.
1. Lahti AM, Saloheimo P, Huhtakangas J, et al. Poststroke epilepsy in long-term survivors of primary intracerebral hemorrhage. Neurology 2017;88:2169-2175.
2. Zelano J, Redfors P, Asberg S, Kumlien E. Association between poststroke epilepsy and death: A nationwide cohort study. Euro Stroke J 2016;1:272-278.
3. Methods. In: Rikstroke: the Swedish Stroke Register [online]. Available at: www.riksstroke.org/method/. Accessed July 24, 2017.
For disclosures, please contact the editorial office at journal@neurology.org.