Functional and radiological parameters to assess outcome of endoscopic third ventriculostomy in shunt failure patients

Background: Placement of ventriculoperitoneal shunt is a standard treatment for hydrocephalus. The risk of shunt malfunction in the first year is 25%-40% making endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) a feasible option in those patients with shunt failure. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate ETV as a viable option in patients with shunt malfunction and to correlate the clinical outcome following successful ETV with functional and radiological outcomes. Materials and Methods: All patients who underwent ETV as a diversion procedure for hydrocephalus following shunt failure or malfunction over 1 year were studied. Functional outcome was evaluated by Wee function independence measure score carried out preoperatively, postoperatively, and at 6-month follow-up. Similar comparison was carried out for radiological parameters such as effacement of gyri, periventricular lucency, frontal horn diameter (maximum), Evans' index, and third ventricular diameter. Results: Of 15 patients, 61.5% were shunt free after ETV. All the failures were noted in the first month following the procedure. The factors, which showed statistically significant correlation with the outcome of ETV, included age (P = 0.030), preoperative functional score (P = 0.006), and all the three components of the functional scoring, namely self-care score (P = 0.087), motor control score (P = 0.035), and neurocognitive score (P = 0.003). Parameters such as Evans' index, maximum frontal horn diameter, and third ventricular diameter showed no significant difference between preoperative and postoperative scans. In follow-up imaging, only the frontal horn diameter showed a significant improvement (P = 0.047). Conclusion: ETV leads to significant neurocognitive improvement and postoperative functional status making it a viable option in patients who present with shunt malfunction.