Effects of prednisone on ventriculoperitoneal shunt function in hydrocephalus secondary to cysticercosis: a preliminary study
Abstract
In a prospective open study, 15 patients with hydrocephalus secondary to cysticercosis who required insertion of a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt were treated with 50 mg of prednisone given orally three times a week. Treatment began in the 1st postoperative week, with isoniazid and pyridoxine administered daily as antituberculous chemoprophylaxis. The drug regimen was continued with close follow up for 24 months. Clinical status, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) scores, and postoperative course in the prednisone-treated group were compared with 30 control patients with hydrocephalus due to cysticercosis. The control patients were matched by age and sex, underwent surgical shunting in the same period, and were followed routinely by the neurosurgery staff. Lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was studied in 2, 16, and 32 weeks postoperatively in the prednisone group. At 24-month follow up two (13%) of 15 patients in the prednisone group and 19 (60%) of 30 patients in the control group required surgical shunt revisions for symptomatic shunt obstruction (p=0.002). Follow-up studies of CSF performed at 32 weeks in the prednisone group revealed improvement of abnormal values with statistically significant differences for glucose (p<0....Continue Reading
References
Anticysticercous antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid in patients with cerebral cysticercosis
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