Posttraumatic Hydrocephalus: Risk Factors, Treatment Modalities, and Prognosis

Ventriculomegaly following severe head injury (HI) is a well-noted entity, but the diagnostic criteria for labeling it as posttraumatic hydrocephalus (PTH) and the treatment protocol vary among different centers. Consequently, the reported incidence of PTH varies widely from 0.7 to 29%. If computed tomographic (CT) criteria of abnormal ventriculomegaly alone are used, the incidence of PTH is of the order of 30 to 86%.1 The generally accepted method of diagnosing PTH depends on a combination of clinical, imaging, and physiologic data.2,3 The clinical diagnosis of PTH is often confounded by the signs and symptoms of secondary brain injuries like hypoxic damage, edema, and infections. Moreover, the poor prognosis associated with the severe HI complicates the management. The authors did a retrospective study to look at various factors associated with PTH and the treatment modalities and outcomes.