Frequency Of Hydrocephalus In Preoperative Patients Of Myelomeningocele

Objective: To find out the frequency of hydrocephalus in preoperative patients of lumbosacral myelomeningocele.Place of study: Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital, and the Institute of child health, Multan.Study design: Descriptive cross-sectional studyDuration of study: March 2020 to April 2021.Methodology: A total of 139 patients with lumbosacral myelomeningocele were included in the study. Myelomeningocele patients were diagnosed using MRI images which revealed herniation of a meningeal lined sac having a spinal cord and nerve roots through the defect and the herniated sac was filled with cerebrospinal fluid. (hyperintense on T2 weighed images) The pressure of neural tissue in myelomeningocele patients was assessed by ultrasonography and MRI of the Spine. Associated hydrocephalus was diagnosed with an MRI brain plain and CT scan. Data were analyzed using SPSS.21. Quantitative variables including age and gender were analyzed by mean and standard deviation. The presence or absence of hydrocephalus was analyzed by frequency and percentages.Results: The mean age of the patients was 6.392 + 3.517 months, the minimum age was 0.5 months and the maximum age limit was 12 months. Out of 139 patients, 76 (54.7%) were males while 63 (45.3%) were females. Out of 139 patients, 121 (87.5%) had hydrocephalus, while 18 (12.5%) did not have hydrocephalus.Conclusion: There is a high frequency of hydrocephalus in patients with myelomeningocele.