Abstract
Shunt function and complications in different etiologies of childhood hydrocephalus were studied in a series of 306 patients involving 1102 shunt operations. Shunts in patients with hydrocephalus caused by neoplasms proved to be most prone to shunt complications. The patency time for shunts in these patients was significantly shorter than for shunts in other patient categories [Standard number of deviations (SND) 5.9; P<0.001, Meyer-Kaplan life table analysis]. When the two main groups of infantile hydrocephalus-congenital obstructive hydrocephalus and hydrocephalus caused by perinatal intracerebral hemorrhage-were compared, the latter group proved to be significantly more prone to shunt infections (P<0.01), with an infection rate of 17.8% compared with 8.9% for the former group. The importance of this fact is stressed by the observation that these patients appear to constitute an increasing percentage of hydrocephalic patients. According to the present study, patients with congenital intracranial cysts and hydrocephalus are less prone to shunt complications, i.e., the infection rate is 6.8%, which is significantly less than that of patients with other types of hydrocephalus (P<0.01; chi-square test).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amacher AL, Wellington J (1984) Infantile hydrocephalus: long-term results at surgical therapy. Child's Brain 11:217–219
Fernell E, Wendt L von, Serlo W, Heikkinen E, Anderson H (1985) Ventriculoatrial or ventriculoperitoneal shunts in the treatment of hydrocephalus in children? Z Kinderchir 40 [Suppl 1]: 12–14
Fernell E, Hagberg B, Hagberg G, Wendt L von (1986) Epidemiology of infantile hydrocephalus in Sweden. I. Birth prevalence and general data. Acta Paediatr Scand 75:975–981
Fernell E, Hagberg B, Hagberg G, Wendt L von (1987) Epidemiology of infantile hydrocephalus in Sweden. III. Origin in preterm infant. Acta Paediatr Scand 76:418–423
Foltz E, Shurtleff DB (1963) Five-year comparative study of hydrocephalus in children with and without operation (113 cases). J Neurosurg 20:1064–1079
Gruber R (1981) The relationship of ventricular shunt complications to the chronic overdrainage syndrome: a follow-up study. Z Kinderchir 34:346–352
Ignelzi RJ, Kirsch WM (1975) Follow-up analysis of ventriculoperitoneal and ventriculoatrial shunt for hydrocephalus. J Neurosurg 42:679–682
Liptak GS, Masiulis BS, McDonald JV (1985) Ventricular shunt survival in children with neutral tube defects. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 74:113–117
Little JR, Rhoton AL, Mellinger JF (1972) Comparison of ventriculoperitoneal and ventriculoatrial shunts for hydrocephalus in children. Mayo Clin Proc 47:396–401
Mazza C, Pasqualin A, Da Pian R (1980) Results of treatment with ventriculoatrial and ventriculoperitoneal shunt in infantile nontumoral hydrocephalus. Child's Brain 7:1–14
Olsen L, Frykberg T (1983) Complications in the treatment of hydrocephalus in children. Acta Paediatr Scand 72:385–390
Serlo W (1985) Shunt treatment of hydrocephalus in children. Thesis, University of Oulu (Acta D 130)
Serlo W, Heikkinen E, Wendt L von, Saukkonen A-L, Heikkinen E, Nyström S (1985) Shunting procedures in the management of intracranial cerebrospinal fluid cysts in infancy and childhood. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 76:111–116
Shurtleff DB, Stuntz JT, Hayden PW (1985/1986) Experience with 1201 cerebrospinal fluid shunt procedures. Pediatr Neurosci 12:49–57
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Serlo, W., Fernell, E., Heikkinen, E. et al. Functions and complications of shunts in different etiologies of childhood hydrocephalus. Child's Nerv Syst 6, 92–94 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307928
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307928