Ventricular Width and Complicated Recovery following Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery

Background: Candidates for deep brain stimulation (DBS) must be carefully evaluated to balance expected benefits with the possibility of serious complications. Several predictive factors exist but are imperfect. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether linear measurements of the lateral ventricles predict complications following DBS. Methods: We retrospectively studied a cohort of DBS patients. The primary outcome was postoperative confusion; secondary outcomes were discharge disposition and all in-hospital complications. For each case, a control matched for age, sex, diagnosis, and DBS target was identified. Linear measurements were made from routine preoperative axial MRIs for both cases and controls. Results: A total of 40 patients met one or more of the end points. Patients with postoperative confusion had a significantly larger minimum width of the lateral ventricles than controls. Patients discharged to a higher level of care and those with any complications also had significantly greater maximum and minimum ventricular widths than controls. Conclusions: These results suggest that preoperative measurement of the maximum and minimum width of the lateral ventricles may help predict which patients are at risk for complicated recoveries following DBS. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel