Three-year survival and functional outcome of patients with idiopathic adult hydrocephalus syndrome.

The functional outcome of 42 patients with idiopathic adult hydrocephalus syndrome (IAHS) was followed over a 3-year period after shunting. Survival curves were compared with those of age-matched healthy elderly subjects and patients with first-ever ischemic stroke. Twenty-seven patients with IAHS were improved 3 months after the operation and 11 remained improved at the 3-year follow-up. The case fatality in patients with stroke and those with IAHS was similar (32% versus 28%), but the relative risk of death among IAHS patients compared to a general elderly population was 3.3.