Ventriculostomy for the treatment of acute hydrocephalus following subarachnoid hemorrhage

✓ The role of ventriculostomy in the treatment of acute hydrocephalus following subarachnoid hemorrhage from intracranial aneurysms is evaluated. Eleven patients treated with an external ventricular drain are compared to a matched control series of untreated patients. Improvement occurred in eight of the 11 treated patients and in only one of the nine patients in the control group. Seven of the patients in the ventriculostomy series improved sufficiently to justify definitive surgery. There were no infections. In 50% of the surviving ventriculostomy patients, permanent shunts were unnecessary. Our data emphasize the deleterious effects of hydrocephalus in the acute period following a subarachnoid hemorrhage and suggest that it may be treated effectively by external ventriculostomy.