Clinical and prognostic aspects of congenital hydrocephalus

Clinical data of 24 patients with congenital hydrocephalus are presented. 13 children died within the first 7 months of life; the average period of survival was 2 months. Associated malformations of the CNS or other organs, severely raised intracranial pressure in utero, and postnatal complications involving the CNS indicated a poor prognosis. The follow-up of the 11 surviving children showed severe neurologic sequelae and drug resistent epilepsy in 2 of them. Three others had neural tube defects and associated paraplegia. The 6 remaining children had mild or moderate cerebral palsy or were moderately mentally retarded. If possible, birth should not be induced before 36 weeks of gestation, and the hydrocephalus should be shunted soon after birth. Satisfactory results can be obtained in about one half of surviving patients by early shunting of congenital hydrocephalus.