Assessment of the efficacy and safety of neuroendoscopic procedures for intracranial pathologies: A single-centre retrospective study with 318 intracranial endoscopic procedures.

INTRODUCTION

Neuroendoscopy has become a well-established procedure for treating various intracranial conditions.

RESEARCH QUESTION

We evaluated the advantages of that technique, with focus on adverse events.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Retrospective analysis included all patients who underwent neuroendoscopic procedures between January 2017 and December 2023. We conducted comparative analysis considering factors such as age, gender, follow-up duration, etiology, preoperative symptoms, clinical and radiological benefits, as well as surgical and nonsurgical adverse events rates.

RESULTS

Total of 318 neuroendoscopic procedures within 257 surgeries in 225 patients were included, with mean age of 18.8 ± 21.4 years. 170 cases (66.1%) were pediatric versus 87 cases adults (33.9%). Most common aetiologies were peri- and intraventricular cysts (27.2%), idiopathic aqueduct stenosis (24.9%), tumours (23.7%), and post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus (17.1%). Procedures included endoscopic third ventriculostomy (51.0%), cyst fenestration (21.0%), and endoscopic-assisted ventricular catheter placements (19.5%). Headache was predominant preoperative symptom (42.0%). During follow-up, 84.8% and 82.5% of cases showed clinical and radiological improvement, respectively. Early surgical adverse events were observed in 5.4% of cases, while non-surgical adverse events occurred in 3.1%. There was no significant difference in the surgical adverse events rate between children and adults (4.7% vs. 6.9%, p = 0.563), compared to significant higher non-surgical adverse events in adults (6.9% vs 1.2%, ).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Neuroendoscopy has demonstrated effectiveness and safety in treating intracranial diseases, boasting a low adverse events rate. Our study found no significant difference in the surgical adverse events rates between pediatric and adult groups.