Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42587163›Full record

ArticleNeurosurgical review2026

Perioperative real-life mobility assessment using wearable step counts in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus after ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery: a prospective pilot study.

Džiugas Meška, Jan Lost, Lisa Haddad, Hanibaal Dib, Kerim Beseoğlu, Thomas Beez

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neurosurgical review, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Džiugas MeškaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany. Dziugas.Meska@uk-essen.de.
Jan LostDepartment of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Lisa HaddadDepartment of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Hanibaal DibDepartment of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Kerim BeseoğluDepartment of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Thomas BeezDepartment of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is commonly treated with ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) implantation, yet accurate patient selection remains challenging because conventional diagnostic tests are variably standardized and partly subjective. We evaluated whether wearable step-count monitoring may provide an objective assessment of real-life mobility and help identify patterns of postoperative mobility improvement. In this prospective pilot study, perioperative mobility was recorded using a wrist-worn wearable tracker (Garmin Vivofit 4). The primary endpoint was change in mean daily step count after VPS implantation. Secondary analyses included comparison between objective responders and non-responders, characterization of the postoperative time course of mobility change, association between objective and subjective clinical response, and exploratory receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to identify a preoperative step-count threshold associated with postoperative mobility improvement. Clinical trial number: not applicable. Twelve patients completed the study protocol. In the overall cohort, postoperative step count increased numerically but did not differ significantly from baseline. Objective responders (n = 8) showed a significant increase in daily step count from 1656 ± 356 to 2311 ± 373 steps/day (p < 0.05), whereas non-responders (n = 4) showed no improvement. Responders had significantly lower preoperative daily step counts than non-responders (median 1118 [IQR 563-1869.5] vs. 5148 [IQR 4202.25-5796.5] steps/day; p = 0.049). In responders, mobility gains became significant from postoperative week 9 onward (F(12,84) = 9.75, p < 0.001), peaking at approximately 2.5-fold baseline by week 11. Objective mobility response was associated with subjective clinical improvement: 7 of 8 objective responders (87.5%) reported postoperative benefit, with a significant linear-by-linear association between objective and subjective outcome (p = 0.033). Exploratory ROC analysis identified a preoperative step-count threshold of 1881 steps/day (AUC = 0.875). Wearable step-count monitoring may enable objective assessment of real-life mobility in iNPH and could complement perioperative evaluation after VPS implantation. Larger prospective studies are needed to validate its role in patient selection and postoperative monitoring.

Indexed as

Hydrocephalus, Normal PressureVentriculoperitoneal ShuntWearable Electronic DevicesAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsProspective StudiesTreatment OutcomeAccelerometryIdiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalusMobilityStep countVentriculoperitoneal shuntWearable devices

Identifiers

PMID42587163
PMCPMC13469384

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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.