Infantile hydrocephalus: management using CT assessment.

When determining a management plan for infantile hydrocephalus, the determining factor for or against the implantation of a shunt is the degree of ventricular dilatation. The author has devised a standardised method of estimating this, the use of which has been shown to achieve consistently successful results. Dilatation was determined using the ventricular/biparietal (V/BP) ratio from the axial CT scan at the mid-portion of the bodies of the lateral ventricles, showing the greatest ventricular dilatation. According to this method, hydrocephalus was classified into four grades. These were mild (V/BP ratio 0.26-0.40), moderate (V/BP ratio 0.41-0.60), severe (V/BP ratio 0.61-0.90) and extreme (V/BP ratio 0.91-1). A V/BP ratio of less than 0.26 was considered normal. This method appeared to be accurate and reproducible in infants with hydrocephalus including those with asymmetrical and multiloculated ventricular dilatation. In all the patients with mild hydrocephalus, spontaneous regression or stabilisation occurred and their developmental outcome was normal. Patients with moderate and severe hydrocephalus needed a ventricular shunt and the developmental outcome was satisfactory in 87% of the cases. They were functionally normal although 18 had some abnormal neurological signs. In patients with extreme hydrocephalus the developmental outcome following shunting was satisfactory in 31% of the cases. They were functionally normal although four had abnormal neurological signs. This plan of management was used in a total of 144 infants and it proved to be highly successful.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)