Table 2

Clinical characteristics of SNPH and INPH patients pre- and postoperatively.

Index
Function/Test
Preop SNPH (n = 17)
Preop INPH (n = 18)
Postop SNPH (n = 17)
Postop INPH (n = 18)

Global
MMSE (0–30)
17.2 (9.6)
23.3 (7.4) *
23.3 (4.6) **
25.9 (7.9) **
Psycho-metric
Identical forms test (0–60)
14.4 (17.8)
24.4 (12.3)
20.9 (17.3) ns
32.3 (12.1) ns

Bingley's test (0–12)
1.9 (2.1)
4.0 (2.1) *
3.9 (1.7) **
4.4 (1.8) ns

Reaction time test (s)
1.7 (3.0)
1.4 (1.8)
0.5 (0.7) ns
0.9 (1.3) ns
Balance
Romberg's test (0–60)
24.9 (27.2)
42.8 (26.1)
41.1 (25.5) **
50.4 (22.0) **
Gait
Gait performance (1–6)
3.4 (1.8)
2.4 (1.2) *
2.2 (1.5) **
1.8 (1.1) ns

Time needed to walk 10 m (s)
38.5 (43.1)
23.4 (35.3)
11.4 (2.2) *
12.6 (4.2) *

Steps needed to walk 10 m (#)
42.8 (38.1)
30.1 (22.4)
19.9 (3.7) **
19.5 (4.6) **
Cont-inence
Urgency incontinence (yes/no)
4/11
8/10 *
11/5 *
5/13 ns
Wake-fulness
IW (1/2/3/4)
4/7/3/3
9/7/2 *
14/3/0/0 **
14/4/0/0 *
MoD



0.75 (0.72)
0.33 (0.37)

Values are given as Mean (SD) or frequency. Gait performance is registered as 1–6: 1 = normal; 2 = insecure; 3 = insecure cane; 4 = bimanual support; 5 = aided; 6 = wheelchair. 1–4: 1 = none; 2 = slight; 3 = moderate; 4 = severe. IW = Impairment of wakefulness (1 = none; 2 = slight; 3 = moderate; 4 = severe). MoD = mean of differences which is a measure of overall improvement (see statistics). Significant differences between SNPH and INPH patients preoperatively are indicated in the Preop INPH column. Differences between the pre- and postoperative assessment were analysed for SNPH and INPH patients as indicated in the Postop columns. ns = non significant; * = p ≤ 0.05; ** = p ≤ 0.01; *** = p ≤ 0.001.

Tullberg et al. Cerebrospinal Fluid Research 2008 5:9   doi:10.1186/1743-8454-5-9