Comparison of Quality Metrics for Pediatric Shunt Surgery and Proposal of the Negative Shunt Revision Rate.

OBJECTIVE

Shunt surgery is common in pediatric neurosurgery and is associated with relevant complication rates. We aimed to compare previously published metrics in a single data set and propose the Negative Shunt Revision Rate (NSRR), defined as proportion of shunt explorations revealing a properly working system, as a new quality metric.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of our shunt surgery activity in 2015 was performed. Demographic, clinical, and radiologic variables were extracted from electronic medical notes. Surgical Activity Rate, Revision Quotient, 30-day shunt malfunction rate, 90-day global shunt revision rate, Preventable Shunt Revision Rate, and novel NSRR were calculated.

RESULTS

Of 60 shunt operations analyzed, 18 (39%) were new shunt insertions, and 42 (70%) were revisions. Median age was 18 months (range, 0.03-204 months), and main etiologies were posthemorrhagic (n = 16; 41%), congenital (n = 11; 28%), and tumor-associated (n = 8; 21%) hydrocephalus. Within 90 days after index surgery, 13 shunt failures occurred, predominantly owing to proximal failure (n = 6; 46%). Surgical Activity Rate was 0.127, Revision Quotient was 2.333, 30-day shunt malfunction rate was 0.166, 90-day global shunt revision rate was 21.7%, and Preventable Shunt Revision Rate was 38.5%. NSRR was 7.1%.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results correlate with published values and offer measurement of quality that can be compared across studies and considered patient-oriented, easily measurable, and potentially modifiable. We propose NSRR as a new quality metric, covering an aspect of shunt surgery that was not addressed previously.