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OBJECT Posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) in the preterm infant remains a major neurological complication of prematurity. The authors first described insertion of a specially designed low-profile subcutaneous ventricular catheter reservoir for temporary management of hydrocephalus in 1983. This report presents the follow-up experience with the surgical management of PHH in this population and describes outcomes both in infants who were stable for permanent shunt insertion and those initially temporized with a ventricular reservoir (VR) prior to permanent ventriculoperitoneal (VP)/ventriculoatrial (VA) shunt placement. METHODS A retrospective review was undertaken of the medical records of all premature infants surgically treated for posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) between 1997 and 2012 at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. RESULTS Over 14 years, 91 preterm infants with PHH were identified. Fifty neonates received temporizing measures via a VR that was serially tapped for varying time periods. For the remaining 41 premature infants, VP/VA shunt placement was the first procedure. Patients with a temporizing measure as their initial procedure had undergone CSF diversion significantly earlier in life than those who had permanent shunting as the initial procedure (29 vs 56 days after birth, p < 0.01). Of the infants with a VR as their initial procedure, 5/50 (10%) did not undergo subsequent VP/VA shunt placement. The number of shunt revisions and the rates of loculated hydrocephalus and shunt infection did not statistically differ between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS Patients with initial VR insertion as a temporizing measure received a CSF diversion procedure significantly earlier than those who received a permanent shunt as their initial procedure. Otherwise, the outcomes with regard to shunt revisions, loculated hydrocephalus, and shunt infection were not different for the 2 groups.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to identify the prevalence of and risk factors for seizure development after supratentorial brain tumor resection in pediatric patients. This could be used to guide the postoperative management and usage of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). METHODS: Retrospective study was conducted for patients between 0 and 21 years with supratentorial tumor resection between 2005 and 2015 at a single institution. RESULTS: Two hundred patients (114 males/86 females) were identified. Median age at resection (±SD) was 9.025 ± 5.720 years and mean follow-up was 4 ± 2 years. Resection was gross total in 82 patients (41%) and partial in 118 patients (59%); 66 patients (33%) experienced preoperative seizures, and 67 patients (34%) experienced postoperative seizures; 18 patients (27%) had early seizures, and 49 patients (73%) had late seizures. Univariate analysis identified risk factors for postoperative seizures as: preoperative seizures (P < 0.001), age less than 2 years (P = 0.003), temporal location (P < 0.001), thalamic location (P = 0.017), preoperative hyponatremia (P = 0.017), World Health Organization grade (P = 0.008), and pathology (P = 0.005). Multivariate regression identified 5 robust risk factors: temporal location (odds ratio [OR] 4.7, 95% CI: 1.7–13.3, P = 0.003), age 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals 5 risk factors for postoperative seizures after resection of supratentorial tumors. These factors should be considered in postoperative management of these patients.

INTRODUCTION: Pilocytic astrocytomas are common tumors that arise in typical locations in the brain. Studies show that genetic and molecular profiles vary with location of origin. We sought to determine whether differences in cell proliferation of tumors arising from different regions exist and whether these predict clinical behaviour prior to and post resection. METHODS: A retrospective review of all patients undergoing surgery for a pilocytic astrocytoma at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles from 2003 – 2015 was carried out. Tumor location was determined by imaging and stratified into infratentorial, supratentorial or optic pathway origin. Ki-67 activity was determined by immunostaining. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS V22. A p value of 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 77 patients were included for study. 51 had posterior fossa tumors, 12 had supratentorial tumors, and 14 optic pathway tumors. Mean Ki-67 was 3.67%, 4.09%, and 3.83% in infratentorial, optic pathway, and supratentorial tumors respectively (p = 0.82). Ki67 of 4% or greater trended towards a higher recurrence (p = 0.11) and lower gross total resection (p = 0.15) with a younger age at presentation (p = 0.04). Ki-67 also had a weak correlation to shorter survival after surgery (r = -0.103, p = 0.41). The strongest predictor for tumor recurrence was incomplete resection (p

Objective It has been speculated whether the insertion of a temporary device to control hydrocephalus secondary to intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in the preterm neonate with removal of the debris caused by such a hemorrhage, can reduce subsequent complications following insertion of a permanent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diverting shunt. This retrospective review is directed at examining this speculation.

The ability to non-invasively establish patency of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) flow between adjacent central nervous system (CNS) compartments is of importance in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with various areas of CSF flow obstruction. Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology allows for real-time magnetic labeling of CSF to directly visualize flow through different compartments.