Optic nerve sheath diameter measurements by CT scan in ventriculoperitoneal shunt obstruction

The objective of the study was to determine differences in optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measurements taken from computed tomography (CT) scans of patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) obstruction versus controls. Inpatients 0-15 years with confirmed VPS obstruction requiring neurosurgical intervention were identified using ICD9 codes. ONSDs, orbit, cranium, and foramen magnum sizes were measured on their pre-surgical CT. Controls included cases at times when their VPS was not obstructed and age and gender matched patients with a CT scan done in the emergency room for head trauma (normal CT findings). Paired T-tests were used for both case-control comparisons. In order to compare the optic nerve sheath size more accurately, the ONSD width was divided by the width of the orbit and by the foramen magnum (antero-posterior) length. Twenty patients were identified with 25 events of VPS obstruction. The right ONSD (RON) was chosen to study. RON/orbit width and RON/foramen magnum diameter for the VPS obstruction versus self-controls, were 0.22 and 0.22, compared to 0.19 and 0.18, respectively, for the non-obstructed self-controls (P = .044 and P = .008, respectively). The same measurements for the VPS obstruction versus age and gender matched controls were 0.22 and 0.21 for the VPS obstruction cases, respectively, compared to 0.17 and 0.16, respectively for the age and gender matched controls (P < .001 and P < .001, respectively). This data confirms that the optic nerve diameter increases during a VPS obstruction. ONSD measurements by ultrasound could add to the evaluation for VPS obstruction.