title: Endoscopic third ventriculostomy has no higher costs than ventriculoperitoneal shunt.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the cost of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) compared to ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) in the treatment of hydrocephalus in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 103 children with hydrocephalus, 52 of which were treated with ETV and 51 with VPS in a prospective cohort. Treatment costs were compared within the first year after surgery, including subsequent surgery or hospitalization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty (38.4%) of the 52 children treated with VPS needed another procedure due to shunt failure, compared to 11 (21.5%) of 51 children in the ETV group. The average costs per patient in the group treated with ETV was USD$ 2,177,66±517.73 compared to USD$ 2,890.68±2,835.02 for the VPS group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this series there was no significant difference in costs between the ETV and VPS groups.
authors: Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal, Unidade de Neurocirurgia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil.
authors: Benicio Oton de
authors: BO
authors: Lima
authors: Departamento de Pediatria, Universidade de Brasília, Brasilia, DF, Brazil.
authors: Riccardo
authors: R
authors: Pratesi
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D044583:Neuroendoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D020542:Third Ventricle / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000191:economics*; D014696:Ventriculostomy / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods