Colloid cysts: Neuropsychological outcome, quality of life and long-term control after endoscopic gross total resection.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopy is increasingly being adopted for removing colloid cysts. However, the neuropsychological outcome and quality of life (QOL) have not been studied in detail. This study is to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic excision on cognitive measures and QOL.

METHODS: Patients with colloid cysts larger than 7 mm, undergoing endoscopy were prospectively studied concerning clinico-radiology, cognitive parameters (age and education adjusted), extent of resection and recurrence. A cross-sectional QOL assessment was additionally performed on endoscopic patients in comparison with cases who underwent microsurgery or standalone ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt.

RESULTS: A total of 22 endoscopic patients with a mean age of 34 years and a mean cyst diameter of 19 mm were studied. Gross total resection(GTR) could be achieved in all. Over a mean follow-up of 53.4 months, none had a recurrence, ventriculomegaly, or retreatment. Among neuropsychological parameters, digit span was the most affected before surgery. There was a broad-based improvement in the mean global cognitive score from 40.63(±10.4) at baseline to 50.25(±5.8) after endoscopy with maximum improvement in 'immediate recall.' The change in scores also had a significant inverse correlation with cyst size, with cysts larger than 18 mm, resulting in lower scores following endoscopy(R=-0.9, P=0.01). QOL was significantly influenced by visual and cognitive impairments and was better among endoscopic patients than similar microsurgery or VP shunt controls, with a significant difference in social and environmental domains(P=0.02).

CONCLUSION: Endoscopy is effective in achieving GTR and long-term control, with neuropsychological improvement correlated with cyst size. This is probably the first report to show QOL is influenced by cognitive parameters and is better following endoscopy than after microsurgery or VP shunt.