Correlating Prenatal Imaging Findings of Fetal Ventriculomegaly with the Need for Surgical Intervention in the First 3 Months after Birth.
OBJECTIVE
This study evaluates the predictive value of prenatal imaging measurements regarding the need for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion for fetal hydrocephalus in the first 3 months after birth.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed a consecutive case series of patients with fetal hydrocephalus from January 2011 to December 2014 (n = 45). Prenatal measurements included head circumference (HC), biparietal diameter (BPD), and lateral ventricle (LV) width. Patients requiring CSF diversion within 12 weeks of birth were compared to those who did not require CSF diversion using the Wilcoxon rank sum test, and receiver-operating characteristic analysis was used to evaluate threshold values.


RESULTS
CSF diversion was required within 12 weeks of birth in 30 of 45 patients. Mean LV width (mm) during the entire pregnancy was greater for the surgery group than the nonsurgery group. Neither BPD nor HC showed differences between the groups. A mean LV size ≥15 mm predicted the need for CSF diversion with a sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 73%.


CONCLUSIONS
LV width is the prenatal imaging measurement that best predicts the need for postnatal CSF diversion.
Departments of Pediatric Surgery and Neurosurgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston - McGovern Medical School and Mischer Neuroscience Center, Houston, Tex., USA.
Joshua L
JL
Gu
Anthony
A
Johnson
Marcia
M
Kerr
Kenneth J
KJ
Moise
Michael W
MW
Bebbington
Claudia
C
Pedroza
David I
DI
Sandberg
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods; D014696:Ventriculostomy / Q000379:methods