title: Prognostic significance of signs and symptoms in hydrocephalus. Analysis of survival.
abstract: An analysis of survival, using Cox's regression model, was performed on 231 patients with hydrocephalus diagnosed before age five years. Age range at follow-up was 21-35 years. The only constant covariate of prognostic importance was asphyxia with a factor of excess mortality of 1.70. Important time-dependent covariates were: a head circumference increasingly above the 97th percentile and/or a radiological diagnosis of hydrocephalus, general seizures, a short lapse of time since diagnosis, and the sign of downward-displaced eyes. The excess mortality of patients with the sign of downward-displaced eyes could not be expressed by a factor of excess mortality, because this was age-dependent. For the other time dependent covariates the factors of excess mortality were 2.5-6.3. Complications during pregnancy and at birth, sex, birth weight, and surgical treatment of those days were not significant for survival. Examples of survival functions with different values for the time-dependent covariates are given.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001237:Asphyxia; D002508:Cephalometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005123:Eye / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011379:Prognosis; D012640:Seizures; D013997:Time Factors