ArticleTrials2020
Corticosteroids versus clobazam in epileptic encephalopathy with ESES: a European multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial (RESCUE ESES*).
Article in Trials, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- The use of steroids in adult epilepsy: A systematic review.Epilepsia open · 2025Pooled it
- Developmental and/or epileptic encephalopathy with spike-and-wave activation in sleep: Pathophysiological insights and treatment options.Epilepsia · 2026Review
- European Reference Networks - a flagship activity of the EU in the field of rare and complex diseases: from 2017 to 2025.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2026Review
- European experience of steroid therapy in children with developmental and epileptic encephalopathy with spike wave activation in sleep ((D)EE-SWAS).Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2025Article
- Predicting progression from SeLECTS with SWAS to EE-SWAS: risk factor identification and model development.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Pulse Intravenous Methylprednisolone in Pediatric Epileptic Encephalopathies: Timing and Networks Consideration.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Exploratory analysis of high-dose corticosteroid therapy on epileptic encephalopathy with spike-and-wave activation in sleep.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2024Article
- Is sleep captured during a standard daytime EEG sufficient to diagnose Electrical Status Epilepticus in Sleep.Epilepsy & behavior reports · 2023Article
- Corticosteroids in childhood epilepsies: A systematic review.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEpileptic encephalopathy with electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES) is an epilepsy syndrome occurring almost exclusively in children, usually at an age between 4 and 12 years. It is characterised by abundant sleep-induced epileptic activity in the electroencephalogram (EEG) and by acquired cognitive and behavioural deficits. The goal of treatment is to prevent further decline or even improve cognitive functioning. Based on mostly small and retrospective studies, corticosteroids and clobazam are regarded by many clinicians as the most effective pharmacological treatments. This European multicentre randomised controlled trial is designed to compare the effects of corticosteroids and clobazam on cognitive functioning after 6 months. Secondary outcomes include cognitive functioning after 18 months, EEG abnormalities in sleep, safety and tolerability, and seizure frequency. We also aimed at investigating whether treatment response in epileptic encephalopathy with ESES can be predicted by measurement of inflammatory mediators and autoantibodies in serum.
methodsThe pragmatic study will be performed in centres with expertise in the treatment of rare paediatric epilepsy syndromes across Europe. A total of 130 patients, 2 to 12 years of age, with epileptic encephalopathy with ESES will be enrolled and randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either corticosteroids (monthly intravenous methylprednisolone pulses or daily oral prednisolone) or oral clobazam for 6 months according to an open-label parallel-group design. Follow-up visits with clinical assessment, EEGs, and neuropsychological testing are scheduled for up to 18 months. Blood samples for cytokine and autoantibody testing are obtained before treatment and 8 months after treatment initiation. DISCUSSION: The treatment of epileptic encephalopathy with ESES aims at improving cognitive outcome. This randomised controlled study will compare the most frequently used treatments, i.e. corticosteroids and clobazam. If the study proves superiority of one treatment over the other or identifies biomarkers of treatment response, results will guide clinicians in the early treatment of this severe epilepsy syndrome.
trial registrationISRCTN, ISRCTN42686094 . Registered on 24 May 2013.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.