Therapeutic Success of the Ketogenic Diet as a Treatment Option for Epilepsy: a Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE To systematically evaluate therapeutic success of the ketogenic diet (KD) as a treatment option for epilepsy. METHODS Using MEDLINE and Google Scholar search, we searched for studies investigating the therapeutic success of ketogenic diet for epilepsy. We estimated therapeutic success rate for ketogenic diet as a treatment option for epilepsy and its 95% CIs using generic inverse variance method. FINDINGS A total of 38 studies met the inclusion criteria. In retrospective studies, the weighted success rate of the patients who take the KD as a treatment option for epilepsy was 58.4% (95% confidence interval (95%CI)=48.7% - 69.9%) at 3 months (n=336); 42.8% (95%CI =36.3% - 50.3%) at 6 months (n=492), and 30.1% (95%CI =24.3% - 37.2%) at 12 months (n=387); in prospective studies, weighted success rate was 53.9% (95%CI 45.5% - 63.8%) at 3 months (n=474); 53.2% (95%CI =44.0% - 64.2%) at 6 months (n=321), and 55.0% (95%CI =45.9% - 65.9%) at 12 months (n=347). CONCLUSION This meta-analysis provides formal statistical support for the efficacy of the ketogenic diet in the treatment of epileptic patients.