Long-term Results in Children with Hydrocephalus

Abstract

The long-term results of 129 pediatric patients with hydrocephalus treated at the Department of Neurosurgery of Niigata University Hospital between 1960 and 1976 were studied according to the causes and severity of hydrocephalus. The following diagnostic categories were used:(1) congenital simple hydrocephalus (36 cases);(2) hydrocephalus with dysraphism (41 cases);(3) complicated hydrocephalus with porencephaly, arachnoid cyst or hydroencephalodysplasia (7 cases);(4) postmeningitic hydrocephalus (32 cases);(5) hydrocephalus due to aqueduct stenosis (3 cases).
Fifty- eight patients survived, 53 were dead, and the remaining 18 were missed during the follow-up period. Overall mortality was 41.1%. Life expectancy was the worst in group 3 and the best in group 5. Mental and physical development of the survivals was the worst in group 4. Two thirds of living patients except group 4 were found to be leading useful lives with educable mental and fairly good physical states. Mental state was well related to the ultimate thickness of the frontal cerebral mantle. Thirteen of 15 patients of slight hydrocephalus whose cerebral mantles measured more than 3 cm, 20 of 30 moderate hydrocephalus of 1 cm to 3 cm, and 1 of 12 severe hydrocephalus less than 1 cm were in educable mental state, respectively. Seven of 17 patients survived for more than 15 years after initial treatments were employed.