[Mental capacities in a group of hydrocephalic children (author's transl)].

The present work proposes the analytical study of mental capacities in a group of hydrocephalic children through a unique instrument: The McCarthy Scales of Children Abilities. A) Results on the patients of different etiology are analyzed. B) Shunted children who never needed review of their shunts are compared with the ones who needed it. C) Hydrocephalic children are matched with a control group of normal children. Our results seem to show that: there is no relation between etiology and intellectual level. Although statistically does not seem to exist relation between intellectual level and number of reviews of shunts, the patients who needed more reviews got worse results. Performances by hydrocephalic children are in general lower than those attained by a control group. The most impaired capacities are the motor skills followed by those involving perceptual-manipulative behaviors. Although they achieve relatively good scores in the Verbal Scale, certain difficulties are shown in the qualitative sense. From these findings authors conclude that an early reeducation of most impaired abilities is recommended as complement for the surgical operation.