Importance of Frontal Horn Ratio and Optimal CSF Drainage in the Treatment of Very Low-Pressure Hydrocephalus

Journal of Neurological Surgery. Part B, Skull Base
Danielle HouldenMaria Li

Abstract

Introduction  Unlike low-pressure hydrocephalus, very low pressure hydrocephalus (VLPH) is a rarely reported clinical entity previously described to be associated with poor outcomes and to be possibly refractory to treatment with continued cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage at subatmospheric pressures. 1, 2 We present four cases of VLPH following resection of suprasellar lesions and hypothesize that untreatable patients can be identified early, thereby avoiding futile prolonged external ventricular drainage in ICU. Methods  We performed a retrospective chart review of four cases of VLPH encountered between 2007 and 2015 in two different institutions and practices and tried to identify factors contributing to successful treatment. We hypothesized that normalization of frontal horn ratio (FHR), optimization of volume of CSF drained, and avoidance of fluid shifts would contribute to improved Glasgow Coma Score (GCS). We examined fluid shifts by studying net fluids shifts and serum levels of sodium, urea, and creatinine. We used Pearson and Spearman correlations to identify measures that would correlate with improved GCS. Results  Our study reveals that improving GCS is positively correlated with decreased FHR and increased CSF dra...Continue Reading

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