Pediatric Hydrocephalus: Current State of Diagnosis and Treatment

"Hydrocephalus is a neurologic condition that requires lifelong vigilance by various health care professionals. Nonsurgical clinicians treating children with hydrocephalus, with or without shunts, often have questions about disease recognition, shunt infection, and shunt malfunction. Imaging modalities such as nonsedated magnetic resonance imaging and nonshunt endoscopic surgery have changed the landscape of the primary pediatric clinician’s interaction with this patient population. This article addresses the practice gap between pediatric outpatient and neurosurgical management of children with hydrocephalus in both the acute and chronic care settings."

Hydrocephalus in the pediatric population is characterized by an initial increase in intraventricular pressure, resulting in pathologic dilation of the cerebral ventricles with an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Although the pressure may be slight or severe, the balance between CSF production, flow, and absorption is lost in hydrocephalus.

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Hydrocephalus or water on the brain is a condition that occurs when fluid builds up in the brain and leads to disturbance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) formation, flow, or absorption. This condition is also termed as hydrodynamic CSF disorder. Hydrocephalus shunt is used to treat this disease, as the device relieves pressure on the brain caused by fluid accumulation.

However, issues regarding the infections caused by the use of hydrocephalus shunts and sometimes over drainage of cerebrospinal fluid restrain the market growth. Increased funding by government and private organizations across emerging economies for treatment of neurological disorders is expected to provide growth opportunities for the market growth.