Table 1.
Summary of main characteristics of selected articles
| Article | Study Design | Population | Location | Time Before Death | Seizure Prevalence | Additional Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bausewein, 200326 | Retrospective chart review | 31 patients: | Palliative care unit, hospital | Last 72 h | 10% | Nonpeaceful death due to seizures |
| 17 GBM | ||||||
| 9 grade II astrocytoma | ||||||
| 5 other | ||||||
| Faithfull, 200527 | Retrospective chart review | 39 primary malignant brain tumor | Hospice | Time between referral to hospice and death, ranging from 1–10 months with a mean of 3.7 months | 56% | |
| Oberndorfer, 200828 | Retrospective chart review | 29 GBM | Hospital | 6–10 weeks | 21% | |
| 2–6 weeks | 28% | |||||
| Last 2 weeks | 50% | |||||
| Pace, 200929 | Retrospective chart review | 169 patients: | At home | Last month | 10%–34% | Seizure type |
| 135 GBM | AED treatment | |||||
| 30 metastases | ||||||
| 4 other | ||||||
| Sizoo, 201030 | Retrospective chart review | 55 high-grade glioma | Not specified | Anytime during EOL phase, ranging from 1–296 days (median, 46 days) | 45% | Cause of death |
| Last week | 28% | |||||
| Ostgathe, 201031 | Retrospective review of database | 812 patients | Palliative care unit, hospice, at home | Upon admission to palliative care unit | 6%–19% | |
| 151 primary brain tumor | ||||||
| 661 secondary brain tumor | ||||||
| Yamanaka, 201132 | Retrospective chart review | 55 brain metastases from lung cancer | Palliative care center | Anytime during stay at palliative care center, ranging from 2–196 days (mean, 42.6 days) | 9% | |
| Flechl, 201333 | Retrospective cohort study, questionnaires | 52 GBM | Hospital, at home, hospice, nursing home | Last 3 months | 52% | |
| Last week | 38% | |||||
| Pace, 201320 | Retrospective review of database | 157 high-grade glioma | At home | Last month before death | 37% | Seizure type |
| AED treatment | ||||||
| Heese, 201334 | Retrospective cohort study, questionnaires | 605 patients: | At home, hospital, hospice, nursing home | Last 4 weeks before death | n/a | Percentage of caregivers satisfied with seizure treatment |
| 74 grade II astrocytoma | ||||||
| 86 grade III astrocytoma | ||||||
| 398 GBM | ||||||
| Sizoo, 201331 | Retrospective cohort study, questionnaires | 92 high-grade glioma | At home, hospital, hospice, nursing home | Last week | 29% | Seizure type |
| AED treatment |
Abbreviation: GBM, glioblastoma multiforme; n/a, not applicable.