Object In Uganda, childhood hydrocephalus is common and difficult to treat. In some children, endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) can be successful and avoid dependence on a shunt. This can be especially beneficial in Uganda, because of the high risk of infection and long-term failure associated with shunting. Therefore, the authors developed and validated a model to predict the chances of ETV success, taking into account the unique characteristics of a large sub-Saharan African population. Methods All children presenting with hydrocephalus at CURE Children's Hospital of Uganda (CCHU) between 2001 and 2007 were offered ETV as first-line treatment and were prospectively followed up. A multivariable logistic regression model was built using ETV success at 6 months as the outcome. The model was derived on 70% of the sample (training set) and validated on the remaining 30% (validation set). Results Endoscopic third ventriculostomy was attempted in 1406 patients. Of these, 427 were lost to follow-up prior to 6 months. In the remaining 979 patients, the ETV was aborted in 281 due to poor anatomy/visibility and in 310 the ETV failed during the first 6 months. Therefore, a total of 388 of 979 (39.6% and [55.6% of completed ETVs]) procedures were successful at 6 months. The mean age at ETV was 12.6 months, and 57.8% of cases were postinfectious in origin. The authors' logistic regression model contained the following significant variables: patient age at ETV, cause of hydrocephalus, and whether choroid plexus cauterization was performed. In the training set (676 patients) and validation set (303 patients), the model was able to accurately predict the probability of successful ETV (Hosmer-Lemeshow p value > 0.60 and C statistic > 0.70). The authors developed the simplified CCHU ETV Success Score that can be used in the field to predict the probability of ETV success. Conclusions The authors' model will allow clinicians to accurately identify children with a good chance of successful outcome with ETV, taking into account the unique characteristics and circumstances of the Ugandan population.

BACKGROUND Postinfectious hydrocephalus in infants is a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The conventional treatment is ventriculoperitoneal shunting, but surgeons are usually not immediately available to revise shunts when they fail. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy with choroid plexus cauterization (ETV–CPC) is an alternative treatment that is less subject to late failure but is also less likely than shunting to result in a reduction in ventricular size that might facilitate better brain growth and cognitive outcomes. METHODS We conducted a randomized trial to evaluate cognitive outcomes after ETV–CPC versus ventriculoperitoneal shunting in Ugandan infants with postinfectious hydrocephalus. The primary outcome was the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Third Edition (BSID-3), cognitive scaled score 12 months after surgery (scores range from 1 to 19, with higher scores indicating better performance). The secondary outcomes were BSID-3 motor and language scores, treatment failure (defined as treatment-related death or the need for repeat surgery), and brain volume measured on computed tomography. RESULTS A total of 100 infants were enrolled; 51 were randomly assigned to undergo ETV–CPC, and 49 were assigned to undergo ventriculoperitoneal shunting. The median BSID-3 cognitive scores at 12 months did not differ significantly between the treatment groups (a score of 4 for ETV–CPC and 2 for ventriculoperitoneal shunting; Hodges–Lehmann estimated difference, 0; 95% confidence interval [CI], −2 to 0; P = 0.35). There was no significant difference between the ETV–CPC group and the ventriculoperitoneal-shunt group in BSID-3 motor or language scores, rates of treatment failure (35% and 24%, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.3 to 1.5; P = 0.24), or brain volume (z score, −2.4 and −2.1, respectively; estimated difference, 0.3; 95% CI, −0.3 to 1.0; P = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS This single-center study involving Ugandan infants with postinfectious hydrocephalus showed no significant difference between endoscopic ETV–CPC and ventriculoperitoneal shunting with regard to cognitive outcomes at 12 months. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01936272.)

Effective treatment of children with medulloblastoma requires a functioning multi-disciplinary team with adequate neurosurgical, neuroradiological, pathological, radiotherapy and chemotherapy facilities and personnel. In addition the treating centre should have the capacity to effectively screen and manage any tumour and treatment-associated complications. These requirements have made it difficult for many low and middle-income countries (LMIC) centres to offer curative treatment. This article provides management recommendations for children with standard-risk medulloblastoma (localised tumours in children over the age of 3-5 years) according to the level of facilities available.

Object The authors have previously reported on the overall improved efficacy of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) combined with choroid plexus cauterization (CPC) for infants younger than 1 year of age. In the present study they specifically examined the long-term efficacy of ETV with or without CPC in 35 infants with congenital aqueduct stenosis treated at CURE Children's Hospital of Uganda during the years 2001–2006. Methods Infants with congenital aqueductal stenosis were treated during 2 distinct treatment epochs: all underwent ETV alone, and subsequently all underwent ETV-CPC. Prospectively collected data in the clinical database were reviewed for all infants with an age < 1 year who had been treated for hydrocephalus due to congenital aqueductal stenosis. Study exclusion criteria included: 1) a history or findings on imaging or at the time of ventriculoscopy that suggested a possible infectious cause of the hydrocephalus, including scarred choroid plexus; 2) an open aqueduct or an aqueduct obstructed by a membrane or cyst rather than by stenosis; 3) severe malformations of the cerebral hemispheres including hydranencephaly, significant segments of undeveloped brain, or schizencephaly; 4) myelomeningocele, encephalocele, Dandy-Walker complex, or tumor; or 5) previous shunt insertion. The time to treatment failure was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method to construct survival curves. Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) and Gehan-Breslow-Wilcoxon tests were used to determine whether differences between the 2 treatment groups were significant. Results Thirty-five patients met the study criteria. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy alone was performed in 12 patients (mean age 4.7 months), and combined ETV-CPC was performed in 23 patients (mean age 3.5 months). For patients without treatment failure, the mean and median follow-ups were, respectively, 51.6 and 48.0 months in the ETV group and 31.2 and 26.4 months in the ETV-CPC group. Treatment was successful in 48.6% of the patients who underwent ETV alone, as accurately predicted by the Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy Success Score (ETVSS), and in 81.9% of the patients who underwent ETV-CPC (p = 0.0119, log-rank test; p = 0.0041, Gehan-Breslow-Wilcoxon test; HR 6.42 [95% CI 1.51–27.36]). Conclusions Combined ETV-CPC is significantly superior to ETV alone for infants younger than 1 year of age with congenital aqueductal stenosis. The fact that the outcome for ETV alone was accurately predicted by the ETVSS suggests that these results are applicable in developed countries.

Postinfectious hydrocephalus (PIH), which often follows neonatal sepsis, is the most common cause of pediatric hydrocephalus worldwide, yet the microbial pathogens underlying this disease remain to be elucidated. Characterization of the microbial agents causing PIH would enable a shift from surgical palliation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulation to prevention of the disease. Here, we examined blood and CSF samples collected from 100 consecutive infant cases of PIH and control cases comprising infants with non-postinfectious hydrocephalus in Uganda. Genomic sequencing of samples was undertaken to test for bacterial, fungal, and parasitic DNA; DNA and RNA sequencing was used to identify viruses; and bacterial culture recovery was used to identify potential causative organisms. We found that infection with the bacterium Paenibacillus, together with frequent cytomegalovirus (CMV) coinfection, was associated with PIH in our infant cohort. Assembly of the genome of a facultative anaerobic bacterial isolate recovered from cultures of CSF samples from PIH cases identified a strain of Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus. This strain, designated Mbale, was lethal when injected into mice in contrast to the benign reference Paenibacillus strain. These findings show that an unbiased pan-microbial approach enabled characterization of Paenibacillus in CSF samples from PIH cases, and point toward a pathway of more optimal treatment and prevention for PIH and other proximate neonatal infections.