Ventricular shunt survival in children with neural tube defects.

Ventricular shunting has dramatically improved the care of children with hydrocephalus. Yet shunt malfunctions are extremely common and cause significant morbidity. To document shunt problems in children with a neural tube defect and hydrocephalus, 67 children born since 1973 were studied via life-table analysis. 28% of the shunts failed within the first 6 months after insertion, 37% failed within the first year and 50% failed by 4 1/2 years after insertion. Shunt survival was similar in children whether or not they had previous shunt failures. The brand of shunt system and pressure rating, the level of neurological function, the interval between closure of the neural tube lesion and shunt insertion, and head circumference percentile at the time of insertion were also not correlated with shunt failure. However, shunts inserted in the first year of life were much more likely to fail than those inserted after one year of age (p less than 0.05). 68% of the revisions required replacement of the ventricular catheter. Shunt failure from all causes of hydrocephalus accounted for approximately 1% of paediatric admissions to Strong Memorial Hospital in 1982 with a mean cost of $4,543 and a mean length of stay of 9 days. Thus shunt problems remain both common and serious.