Visuospatial deficits in children 3-7 years old with shunted hydrocephalus.

OBJECTIVE To define non-verbal intelligence deficits in children 3-7 years of age following shunted hydrocephalus (HCP). DESIGN Prospective randomised single-blinded study. Thirty shunted HCP (study) and 30 cardiac (control) patients between the ages of 3 and 7 years were compared on eight non-verbal subtests of the Junior South African Individual Scales (JSAIS). SETTING Department of Neurosurgery at Wentworth Hospital, Durban, South Africa. RESULTS Significant differences between the HCP and cardiac groups were recorded on all eight subtests of the JSAIS. The HCP group experienced problems with spatial orientation, perceptual planning and organisation, emotive deficits, abstract thinking and visual concepts. CONCLUSION All patients with shunted HCP had specific deficiencies in defined cognitive areas of non-verbal intelligence when compared with the controls. Further studies are warranted to determine the effects of ventriculoperitoneal shunting on non-verbal intelligence so that the special educational needs of HCP children may be met.