Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 18, 2025
Neuronavigation and Laparoscopy Guided Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Insertion for the Treatment of Hydrocephalus
Published on: October 14, 2022
Volumetric predictors for shunt-dependency in pediatric posterior fossa tumors
Florian Wilhelmy1, Erdem Güresir2, Johannes Wach2
1Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. florian.wilhelmy@medizin.uni-leipzig.de.
Insights
Ventricle-brain ratio (VBR) effectively predicts shunt dependency in pediatric posterior fossa tumors. Radiomic VBR measurements pre- and post-surgery offer reliable tools for managing hydrocephalus in these young patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Radiology
- Oncology
Background:
- Posterior fossa tumors are common in pediatric neurosurgery, often causing hydrocephalus requiring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion.
- Preventing shunt dependency after surgery is a key goal, but existing predictors for this are unreliable.
- Radiomic analysis offers a potentially automated and unbiased method for predicting shunt dependency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of radiomic measurements, specifically ventricle-brain ratio (VBR), in predicting shunt dependency in pediatric patients with posterior fossa tumors.
- To compare the predictive performance of VBR with other methods like hydrocephalus categorization and transependymal edema.
- To assess the influence of perioperative CSF diversion on persistent hydrocephalus and shunt necessity.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 36 pediatric patients with posterior fossa tumors meeting specific inclusion criteria.
- Volumetric assessment of brain compartments, focusing on VBR, before and after surgery.
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses to evaluate prognostic parameters including VBR and deltaVBR (postoperative VBR change).
Main Results:
- A ventricle volume cutoff of 60.9 ml showed significant predictive value for CSF diversion (AUC 0.788).
- Radiomic VBR-scoring demonstrated strong prediction of shunt dependency (AUC 0.783).
- Postoperative deltaVBR scoring predicted shunt-free survival (AUC 0.719), outperforming other methods.
Conclusions:
- Ventricle-brain ratio (VBR) is a promising predictor for shunt necessity in pediatric posterior fossa tumor patients.
- Pre- and postoperative radiomic VBR measurements serve as valuable tools for predicting shunt dependency.
- Perioperative CSF diversion did not significantly correlate with or influence persistent hydrocephalus or the need for shunting.
Abstract:
Posterior fossa (PF) tumors are the most common neoplastic entity in pediatric neurosurgery. Children suffering from PF tumors regularly present with hydrocephalus and CSF diversion is a crucial point of treatment. There is an ongoing debate about external ventricular drainage (EVD) management before surgery and its influence on ongoing hydrocephalus treatment afterwards. Beyond onco-surgical aspects, the prevention of shunt-dependency is an important goal in posterior fossa surgery. Various predictors for shunt-dependency after posterior fossa surgery in children have been suggested. Because these predictors may only apply to small subsets of children, and their reliability has been questioned, we evaluated a straightforward, potentially automated, and unbiased method for shunt prediction. In this retrospective radiomic study we analyzed 60 pediatric patients with posterior fossa tumors. Exclusion criteria were age under two years, missing MRI data, tumor location non-exclusive to the PF, traumatic brain injury and less than 6 months follow-up. Ultimately, 36 children met the inclusion criteria. We performed a volumetric assessment of various skull and brain compartments before and after surgery focused on ventricle-brain ratio (VBR). We dichotomized for potential predictors and performed ROC analyses. We evaluated the prognostic parameters for shunt dependency, including supratentorial transependymal edema and VBR, as well as pre- and postoperative radiomic measurements as early prognostic tools. The cutoff in ventricle volume for CSF diversion was 60.9 ml (AUC 0.788, p = 0.001). The radiomic-based prediction of shunt dependency with VBR-scoring showed an AUC of 0.783. Postoperative reduction in ventricle size, depicted by the deltaVBR scoring, showed an AUC of 0.719 in predicting shunt-free survival. Perioperative CSF diversion did correlate with postoperative persistent HCP, whereas the odd's ratio for shunting was decreased, but not significantly lower, when CSF diversion was undertaken perioperatively (AUC = 0.618, OR = 0.273, CI = 0.029-2.577). Ventricle-brain ratio may be a potential predictor for the necessity of CSF diversion. In our cohort, radiomic predictors performed better than hydrocephalus categorization, modified Canadian Preoperative Prediction Rule for Hydrocephalus (mCPPRH) or transependymal edema alone. VBR pre- and deltaVBR postoperatively may be potential tools to predict the need for shunting in pediatric posterior fossa tumor patients. The decision for pre- or intraoperative CSF diversion showed no correlation and no influence on persistent hydrocephalus.
