Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35599321›Full record

ArticleFluids and barriers of the CNS2022

White matter changes should not exclude patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus from shunt surgery.

Carl Snöbohm, Filip Malmberg, Eva Freyhult, Kim Kultima, David Fällmar, Johan Virhammar

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Fluids and barriers of the CNS, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Carl SnöbohmDepartment of Medical Sciences, Neurology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Filip MalmbergDepartment of Information Technology, Division of Visual Information and Interaction, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Eva FreyhultDepartment of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Kim KultimaDepartment of Medical Sciences, Clinical Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
David FällmarDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Neuroradiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Johan VirhammarDepartment of Medical Sciences, Neurology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. johan.virhammar@neuro.uu.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9901-2949
Uppsala University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWhite matter changes (WMC) on brain imaging can be classified as deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH) or periventricular hyperintensities (PVH) and are frequently seen in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). Contradictory results have been reported on whether preoperative WMC are associated with outcome after shunt surgery in iNPH patients. The aim of this study was to investigate any association between DWMH and PVH and shunt outcome in patients with iNPH, using magnetic resonance volumetry.

methodsA total of 253 iNPH patients operated with shunt surgery and clinically assessed before and 12 months after surgery were included. All patients were investigated preoperatively with magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. The volumes of DWMH and PVH were quantified on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images using an in-house semi-automatic volumetric segmentation software (SmartPaint). Shunt outcome was defined as the difference in symptom score between post- and preoperative investigations, measured on the iNPH scale, and shunt response was defined as improvement with ≥ 5 points.

resultsOne year after shunt surgery, 51% of the patients were improved on the iNPH scale. When defining improvement as ≥ 5 points on the iNPH scale, there was no significant difference in preoperative volume of WMC between shunt responders and non-responders. If outcome was determined by a continuous variable, a larger volume of PVH was negatively associated with postoperative change in the total iNPH scale (p < 0.05) and negatively associated with improvement in gait (p < 0.01) after adjusting for age, sex, waiting time for surgery, preoperative level of symptoms, Evans' index, and disproportionately enlarged subarachnoid space hydrocephalus. The volume of DWMH was not associated with shunt outcome.

conclusionsAn association between outcome after shunt surgery and volume of PVH was seen, but there was no difference between shunt responders and non-responders in the volumes of DWMH and PVH. We conclude that preoperative assessment of WMC should not be used to exclude patients with iNPH from shunt surgery.

Indexed as

Hydrocephalus, Normal PressureWhite MatterBrainHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingTreatment OutcomeIdiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalusMagnetic resonance imagingShunt surgery outcomeVolumetric segmentationWhite matter changes

Identifiers

PMID35599321
PMCPMC9125842
OpenAlexW4281296909

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.