ENG FINDINGS OF SHUNT-TREATED HYDROCEPHALUS IN CHILDREN

Thirty-eight hydrocephalic children (mean age 11.5 years; range 5.1-17.9) were examined on average 7.9 years after initial shunting. The etiology of the hydrocephalus was divided into 5 groups: perinatal intraventricular hemorrhage 14, congenital obstructive hydrocephalus 14, central nervous system infections 4, intracranial cysts 3, and intracranial anomalies 3 children. Electronystagmographic (ENG) examination included recording of spontaneous and positional nystagmus, the pendular eve tracking test, saccadic eye movements, optokinetic and caloric reactions. Only 5 children (13%) had a normal ENG. Thirty-one children (82%) had ENG pathology of the central type and 12 (44%) of the 27 successfully studied had pathological caloric reactions. Ten children (26%) had a combination of both central and vestibular pathology. There was no statistical difference between the boys and the girls or between different etiological groups. The high prevalence of vestibular pathology among these hydrocephalic children may be relevant to their impaired motor performance, because only 7 (18%) of the children studied exhibited normal motor performance in the neurological tests.