Quality of life in children with hydrocephalus treated with endoscopic third ventriculostomy

Author(s):  
Ángela Ros-Sanjuán ◽  
Sara Iglesias-Moroño ◽  
Bienvenido Ros-López ◽  
Francisca Rius-Díaz ◽  
Andrea Delgado-Babiano ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEThe objectives of this study were to determine the quality of life of a pediatric cohort with hydrocephalus treated by endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV), using the Hydrocephalus Outcome Questionnaire–Spanish version (HOQ-Sv), and study the clinical and radiological factors associated with a better or worse functional status.METHODSThis cross-sectional study was undertaken between September 2018 and December 2019. It comprised a series of 40 patients ranging from 5 to 18 years old with hydrocephalus treated by ETV. ETV was considered to be successful if there was no need for surgery for the treatment of hydrocephalus after a minimum follow-up of 6 months. The clinical variables included gender, age at hydrocephalus diagnosis, age at the time of ETV, age at completion of the questionnaire, etiology and type of hydrocephalus (communicating or not), prior shunt, repeat ETV, number of neurosurgical procedures, number of epileptic seizures, presenting signs, and follow-up duration until last office revision. The radiological variables were the Evans Index and the pre- and posttreatment frontooccipital horn ratio. An analysis was conducted of the association between all these variables and the various dimensions on the HOQ-Sv, completed by the parents of the patients via telephone or in the outpatient offices.RESULTSThe mean age of the children at ETV was 7 years (range 7–194 months), and on completing the questionnaire was 12 years (range 60–216 months). The mean HOQ scores were as follows: overall 0.82, physical domain 0.86, social-emotional (SE) domain 0.84, cognitive domain 0.75, and utility score 0.90. A history of epileptic crises was a predictive factor for a worse score overall and in the SE and cognitive domains. Factors related to a worse score in the physical domain were a previous shunt, the number of procedures, and the etiology and type of hydrocephalus. The mean follow-up duration from ETV to the last office visit was 5 years (64.5 months). No association was found between the degree of ventricular reduction and the quality of life.CONCLUSIONSThe factors related to a worse score in the different dimensions of the HOQ were a history of epileptic seizures, the number of procedures, communicating hydrocephalus, and having had a previous valve. No association was found between the reduction in ventricular size and the quality of life as measured on the HOQ-Sv.

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhaya V. Kulkarni ◽  
Iffat Shams ◽  
D. Douglas Cochrane ◽  
P. Daniel McNeely

Object Quality of life (QOL) studies comparing treatment with endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) and CSF shunting are very limited. The authors compared QOL outcomes following these 2 treatments in a large cohort of children with hydrocephalus by using multivariable statistical techniques to adjust for possible confounder variables. Methods The families of children between 5 and 18 years of age with previously treated hydrocephalus at 3 Canadian pediatric neurosurgery centers completed measures of QOL: the Hydrocephalus Outcome Questionnaire (HOQ) and the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3). Medical records and recent brain imaging studies were reviewed. A linear regression analysis was performed with the QOL measures as the dependent variable. In multivariable analyses, the authors assessed the independent effect of initial hydrocephalus treatment (ETV vs shunting) while adjusting for the treatment center, current patient age, age at initial treatment, etiology of hydrocephalus, total number of days spent in the hospital for initial treatment, total number of days spent in the hospital for subsequent hydrocephalus complications, functioning ETV at follow-up assessment, frequency of seizures, and current ventricle size. Results Data from 603 patients were available for analysis. Fifty-eight patients had undergone ETV as their primary treatment and 545 had undergone CSF shunting. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy patients were slightly younger at the follow-up assessment, were older at the first surgery, and spent fewer days in the hospital for hydrocephalus complications. Without adjustment for any confounders, treatment with ETV was associated with significantly higher HOQ physical scores and HUI3 scores. After multivariable adjustment, however, there was no significant difference in any outcome measure. A functioning ETV at the time of the follow-up assessment was not significant in any model. Conclusions Treatment with either ETV or CSF shunting does not appear to be associated with any substantial difference in QOL outcome after adjusting for prognostic factors. Further study is needed to definitively determine the relative QOL benefit of either procedure, if any.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio E. Tatsui ◽  
R. Jason Stafford ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Jonathan N. Sellin ◽  
Behrang Amini ◽  
...  

OBJECT High-grade malignant spinal cord compression is commonly managed with a combination of surgery aimed at removing the epidural tumor, followed by spinal stereotactic radiosurgery (SSRS) aimed at local tumor control. The authors here introduce the use of spinal laser interstitial thermotherapy (SLITT) as an alternative to surgery prior to SSRS. METHODS Patients with a high degree of epidural malignant compression due to radioresistant tumors were selected for study. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain and quality of life were obtained before and within 30 and 60 days after treatment. A laser probe was percutaneously placed in the epidural space. Real-time thermal MRI was used to monitor tissue damage in the region of interest. All patients received postoperative SSRS. The maximum thickness of the epidural tumor was measured, and the degree of epidural spinal cord compression (ESCC) was scored in pre- and postprocedure MRI. RESULTS In the 11 patients eligible for study, the mean VAS score for pain decreased from 6.18 in the preoperative period to 4.27 within 30 days and 2.8 within 60 days after the procedure. A similar VAS interrogating the percentage of quality of life demonstrated improvement from 60% preoperatively to 70% within both 30 and 60 days after treatment. Imaging follow-up 2 months after the procedure demonstrated a significant reduction in the mean thickness of the epidural tumor from 8.82 mm (95% CI 7.38–10.25) before treatment to 6.36 mm (95% CI 4.65–8.07) after SLITT and SSRS (p = 0.0001). The median preoperative ESCC Grade 2 was scored as 4, which was significantly higher than the score of 2 for Grade 1b (p = 0.04) on imaging follow-up 2 months after the procedure. CONCLUTIONS The authors present the first report on an innovative minimally invasive alternative to surgery in the management of spinal metastasis. In their early experience, SLITT has provided local control with low morbidity and improvement in both pain and the quality of life of patients.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
F. Mantovani ◽  
G. Bozzini ◽  
P. Acquati ◽  
S.S. Di Pierro ◽  
M.G. Spinelli ◽  
...  

AIMS: In order to analyse the effect of tolterodine on the Quality of life (QoL) of patients with overactive bladder (OB) we conducted a prospective multicentre clinical study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects were questioned at entry and 4, 12 and 24 weeks later about the number of micturitions and incontinent and urgency episodes/day, using a micturition diary. The mean volume voided per micturition and the number of pads used per day was also recorded. The QoL was measured using the Kings Health Questionnaire (KHQ) and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ). A total of 179 patients entered the study: 59 dropped out (4 due to lack of efficacy, 10 due to adverse events, 25 because of lack of interest in the study/other reason and 20 were lost at follow up), leaving 120 patients for analysis. One hundred and eight patients (90%) were female, their mean age was 56.5 years (SD 11.2); 87 had never received treatment for OB/UI (80.6%) and their mean weight was 70.0 Kg (SD 12.7). RESULTS: The mean number of micturitions/day was 9.3 at trial entry and it decreased to 6.8 by the end of the study. The corresponding values for the number of urge episodes, incontinence episodes and number of pads used per day were 3.5, 2.7 and 1.2 and 0.8, 0.9 and 0.4 respectively. The mean volume voided per micturition increased from 146 ml. to 178 ml. All the differences between trial entry and end of study values were statistically significant (p<0.05). Considering the results of the KHQ, the values of all the different areas/domini (?) decreased markedly and in a statistically significant way between the start of treatment and the end of study evaluations. Similar findings emerged when we considered values of the IIQ. The decrease was constant and marked during the first three months and remained constant thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: This study, conducted in a population of subjects with dry and wet OB, shows that tolterodine given for six months lowers the frequency of urgency episodes and incontinence episodes without troublesome adverse effects. These clinical effects are mirrored in the QoL, KHQ and IIQ questionnaire scores, which improved by about 50% over the same period.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoaki Kimura ◽  
Kiyoshi Suzuki ◽  
Seiya Uchida ◽  
Hiroshi Katamura

Shorter and easier methods of conducting community health surveys would be useful. We conducted a study to demonstrate the responsiveness of the 10-item Mokichi Okada Association quality of life questionnaire (MQL-10) in a follow-up survey and to determine the minimally important difference (MID) for this measure. In 2007, Japanese adults participated in a survey on health prac- tices. We analyzed the MQL-10 scores (n=6365) together with the following factors: gender, age group, disease, reason for participation, and complementary health practices, such as food and eating. The mean baseline MQL-10 score was 26.4±5.83 [standard deviation (SD)] and the mean follow-up score was 27.6±5.45 SD with a mean change of 1.20±4.41 SD. The effect size for change was 0.21 and the standardized response mean was 0.27. The MQL-10 scores in the baseline condition were associated with gender, age group, disease, reason for participation and complementary health practices. Furthermore, the changes in the MQL-10 during the 12 weeks of study were associated with age group, disease, reason for participa- tion and complementary health practices. The increase in frequency of health practices was significantly associated with improvements in the participants’ quality of life (QOL). These results suggest that the MQL-10 is use- ful for assessing the effects of complementary health practices on QOL. The estimate of 3 points for the range of this measure (0-40) was higher than half of the SD of scores; therefore, it was considered reasonable for the MID.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heikki Olavi Koskela ◽  
Tuomas A Selander ◽  
Anne M Lätti

Abstract Background: Recognition of disorder phenotypes may help to estimate prognosis and to guide the clinical management. Current cough management guidelines classify patients according to the duration of the cough episode. However, this classification is not based on phenotype analyses. The present study aimed to identify cough phenotypes by clustering.Methods: An email survey among employed, working-age subjects identified 975 patients with current cough. All filled in a comprehensive 80-item questionnaire including the Leicester Cough Questionnaire. Phenotypes were identified utilizing K-means partitional clustering. A subgroup filled in a follow-up questionnaire 12 months later to investigate the possible differences in the prognosis between the phenotypes.Results: Two clusters were found. The cluster A included 608 patients (62.4 % of the population) and the cluster B 367 patients (37.6 %). The three most important variables to separate the clusters were the number of the triggers of cough (mean 2.63 (SD 2.22) vs. 6.95 (2.30), respectively, p<0.001), the number of the cough background disorders (chronic rhinosinusitis, current asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, 0.29 (0.50) vs. 1.28 (0.75), respectively, p<0.001), and the Leicester Cough Questionnaire physical domain (5.33 (0.76) vs. 4.25 (0.84), respectively, p<0.001). There were significant interrelationships between these three variables (each p<0.001). Duration of the episode was not among the most important variables to separate the clusters. At 12 months, 27.0 % of the patients of the cluster A and 46.1 % of the patients of the cluster B suffered from cough that had continued without interruptions from the first survey (p<0.001).Conclusions: Two cough phenotypes could be identified. Cluster A represents phenotype A, which includes the majority of patients and has a tendency to heal by itself. The authors propose that cluster B represents phenotype TBQ (Triggers, Background disorders, Quality of life impairment). Given the poor prognosis of this phenotype, it urges a prompt and comprehensive clinical evaluation regardless of the duration of the cough episode.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheida Jabalameli ◽  
Hamid Taher Neshat Doost ◽  
Mohammad Bagher Kajbaf ◽  
Hossein Molavi

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders. It has been reported that psychological treatments like Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is effective for patients with GAD. The purpose of the present research was to investigate the effectiveness of CBT on Quality of Life (QOL) and worry in patients with GAD. A sample of 30 patients with GAD who had been referred to psychiatry offices in Isfahan, Iran were selected and assigned into an experimental group (n=15) and a control group (n=15) randomly.  The experimental group received CBT in 8 weekly sessions. All participants completed the World Health Organization Quality Of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) at pretest, posttest and follow up. The results of MANCOVA showed that the mean scores of QOL in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group at the posttest and follow up (P<0.05) and the mean scores of worry in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group at the posttest and follow up (P<0.05) It is concluded that CBT can be applied for the patients with GAD as a useful psychological treatment. In general, CBT can improve QOL and decrease worry in patients with GAD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thy Thy Vanem ◽  
Svend Rand-Hendriksen ◽  
Cathrine Brunborg ◽  
Odd Ragnar Geiran ◽  
Cecilie Røe

Abstract Background Marfan syndrome, a rare hereditary connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in fibrillin-1, can affect many organ systems, especially the cardiovascular system. Previous research has paid less attention to health-related quality of life and prospective studies on this topic are needed. The aim of this study was to assess changes in health-related quality of life after 10 years in a Norwegian Marfan syndrome cohort. Methods Forty-seven Marfan syndrome patients ≥ 18 years were investigated for all organ manifestations in the 1996 Ghent nosology and completed the self-reported questionnaire, Short-Form-36 Health Survey, at baseline in 2003–2004 and at follow-up in 2014–2015. Paired sample t tests were performed to compare means and multiple regression analyses were performed with age, sex, new cardiovascular and new non-cardiovascular pathology as predictors. Results At 10-year follow-up: a significant decline was found in the physical domain. The mental domain was unchanged. Older age predicted a larger decline in physical health-related quality of life. None of the chosen Marfan-related variables predicted changes in any of the subscales of the Short-Form 36 Health Survey or in the physical or the mental domain. Conclusion Knowledge of decline in the physical domain, not related to organ affections, may be important in the follow-up of Marfan syndrome patients.


Author(s):  
Elżbieta Sieńko-Awierianów ◽  
Monika Chudecka

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the potential factors of hypermobility and pain threshold on the risk of injury in physically active students and to verify which domains of quality of life are rated lower by young people with a history of injuries. Methods: The study included 278 students (138 women and 140 men) who regularly undertake physical activity. Anthropometric measurements, body composition, pain threshold, incidence of hypermobility syndrome, information on the history of injuries to the locomotor system, and the quality of life of the study participants were collected. Results: In the group studied, hypermobility and pain threshold had a statistically significant related on the risk of injury. Participants with a history of injuries had lower scores for an individual’s overall perception of their own health and the physical domain. There were also significant differences in the psychological domain of the quality of life between males and females with a history of injuries. Conclusion: In the studied group, the risk of injuries was related to diagnosed hypermobility and pain threshold measured on the lower limbs. The study also showed that people with a history of injuries had statistically significantly lower scores in the individual general perception of their own health and in the physical domain. Gender had a significant impact on the quality of life of people with injuries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1771-1777
Author(s):  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Zhenyu Qi ◽  
Xuewen Zhang ◽  
Fangping Zhong ◽  
Hui Yao ◽  
...  

Dandy–Walker syndrome associated with syringomyelia is a rare condition, with few reports of adult cases. We describe an adult case of Dandy–Walker syndrome with concomitant syringomyelia. A 33-year-old man presented with a 3-month history of walking instability, numbness in the hands, memory deterioration, and urinary incontinence. A physical examination showed a positive Romberg sign. Brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed hydrocephalus, a cyst in the posterior fossa, absence of the cerebellar vermis, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum and cerebella, and syringomyelia. All of these symptoms were consistent with the diagnosis of Dandy–Walker syndrome. Surgery involving arachnoid adhesiolysis and endoscopic third ventriculostomy was performed. At the 6-month follow-up, the symptoms were completely relieved. Magnetic resonance imaging showed that syringomyelia was greatly reduced and the hydrocephalus remained unchanged. Dandy–Walker syndrome with concomitant syringomyelia in adults is exceedingly rare. Early diagnosis and appropriate surgical treatment of this condition should be highlighted. Combined arachnoid adhesiolysis and endoscopic third ventriculostomy may be an effective approach.


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