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Very long-term follow-up of cognitive function in adults treated in infancy for hydrocephalus

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim was to investigate the very long-term cognitive outcome in adults who had been shunt treated for hydrocephalus during their first year of life.

Methods

In a population-based series of 72 children born in 1967–1978 and shunt treated for infantile hydrocephalus, 43 were found to have a normal cognitive function when assessed at 6–17 years of age. Twenty-five of them agreed to participate in a follow-up study of cognition at a mean age of 35 years (range, 30–41 years). The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III) was used.

Results

The median full-scale IQ was 101 (range, 83–120), median verbal IQ was 104 (81–115) and performance IQ was 99 (80–127). The corresponding IQs in childhood in the 16 subjects who had been tested previously with the WISC were 101 (84–124), 108 (86–135), and 101 (73–124). Specific cognitive deficits were found for working memory and processing speed. Shunt complications did not affect IQ.

Conclusion

This very long-term follow-up study of normally gifted children with hydrocephalus revealed that, as adults, they still had preserved cognitive functions despite recurrent shunt dysfunction. The results are encouraging and represent a tribute to neurosurgical intervention. Continued follow-up studies are needed since the etiological panorama and treatment procedures of children with hydrocephalus are changing over time.

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Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Habilitation, Halmstad County Hospital, Halmstad, Sweden

    Barbro Lindquist & Eva-Karin Persson

  2. Unit of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Skaraborg’s Hospital, Mariestad and Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Elisabeth Fernell

  3. The Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital/Sahlgrenska, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, SE-416 85, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Paul Uvebrant

Authors
  1. Barbro Lindquist
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  2. Eva-Karin Persson
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  3. Elisabeth Fernell
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  4. Paul Uvebrant
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Correspondence to Paul Uvebrant.

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Lindquist, B., Persson, EK., Fernell, E. et al. Very long-term follow-up of cognitive function in adults treated in infancy for hydrocephalus. Childs Nerv Syst 27, 597–601 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-010-1311-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-010-1311-y

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