Treatment of adult-onset obstructive hydrocephalus with low- or medium-pressure CSF shunts.
Nine patients with nontumor obstructive hydrocephalus of adult onset underwent 13 shunt placements; low-pressure valves (closing pressure, 20 to 50 mm H2O) were employed for 5 placements, and medium-pressure valves (closing pressure, 55 to 85 (mm H2O) were employed for 8 placements. The use of a low-pressure valve was followed by objective improvement in all five instances, whereas the use of a medium-pressure valve was followed by objective improvement in only two of eight instances (p = 0.021). The treatment of adult-onset obstructive hydrocephalus may require low-pressure shunts because of the high outflow resistance that characterizes this condition.
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011312:Pressure; D012189:Retrospective Studies