Outcome Analysis of Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Surgery in Pediatric Hydrocephalus

AIM: To study the clinical outcome of shunt surgeries in children with hydrocephalus and evaluate the risk factors for ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent VP shunt surgery for hydrocephalus were included. Medical charts, operative reports, imaging studies, and clinical follow-up evaluations were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 137 patients with the average age of 20.7 months, range from 1.5 months to 8.5 years at the time of VP shunt surgery were included. The incidence of overall shunt complications was 35.76%; incidence of shunt revision was 27%, shunt blockade 45.94%, shunt infection 16.21%, shunt migration 10.81%, and shunt malfunction due to abdominal pseudocyst 10.81%. The mortality rate was 5.10%. The shunt revisions in the first 6 months after shunt placement was observed in n = 9 (24%). Hydrocephalus was associated with post-tubercular meningitis and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in shunt placement was associated with multiple shunt revisions (n = 13, 35.13%) (n = 5, 45.4%), respectively. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that etiology of hydrocephalus, were associated with the shunt survival. Further prospective controlled studies are required to address the observed associations