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NCT Number: NCT05796713

Barriers to Patients' Early Presentation, Diagnosis and Treatment in Childhood Hydrocephalus

Patient with childhood hydrocephalus (HC) tend to present late in Low medium income countries (LMICs). This project will study the barriers leading to patients' and health system delay in patients with childhood HC. This will be done via a quantitative and qualitative study analysis. The data will be collected prospectively.

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Key information

Conditions

Hydrocephalus in Children

Age range

Up to 5 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Lagos State University Teaching Hospital

Ikeja, Lagos, 20001, Nigeria

About this study

Children less than 5 years of age with HC confirmed with either magnetic resonance or computerized tomographic images will be recruited. In addition, Hospital staff members, who have been working within the Neurosurgical unit for at least 5 years will be interviewed.

The patients' data that will be collected will include gender, age at presentation, socioeconomic class of parents (or guardians), religion, referral source, presenting complaint with its duration, physical findings, ventricular diameter. The Pre-presentation symptoms interval (PPI) will be defined as the number of days between the onset of symptoms and first presentation at any type of healthcare service centre (including primary healthcare centre, secondary health institutions); Presentation Interval (PI)- Number of days from symptoms to presenting at Neurosurgical centre; Pre-diagnostic interval (PDI) will be defined as the interval in days between symptoms and completion of pre-operative investigations. Patient interval (PI) will be defined as the number of days from the onset of symptoms and patient's first contact with the Neurosurgical center. Hospital interval (HI)- number of days from completion of investigations to surgical intervention. The collected data will be analyzed according to qualitative conventional content analysis. Nvivo software version 13 and Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 23 will be used for data analysis.

Who can participate

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • All patients less than 5 years of age with HC confirmed with either magnetic resonance or computerized tomographic images
  • Patients' parents' inclusion criteria will be parents (Guardians) of children with radiologically confirmed HC with either magnetic resonance or computerized tomographic images.
  • Hospital staff members, who have been working within the Neurosurgical unit for at least 5 years.

Exclusion criteria

  • All patents not investigated or operated at our centre
  • Patients older than 5 years

Treatment and study plan

Hydrocephalus

Other

Interview

Primary outcomes

  1. Patient Presentation time in days

    Time frame: 14 days

    Time in days, from the onset of symptoms to the time the patient seeks medical advice.

  2. Diagnostic delay in days

    Time frame: 14 days

    Time in days between the patient's presentation and the confirmation of the diagnosis, in days

  3. Treatment delay in days

    Time frame: 14 days

    The duration (in days) between the diagnosis and initiation of treatment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Treatment outcome as perceived by parents/caregivers

    Time frame: 4 weeks

    Effectiveness of the treatment in improving patient outcomes using a questionnaire (5-point Likert scale based survey questions with higher scores meaning better outcome)

  2. Parents/caregivers satisfaction

    Time frame: 4 weeks

    The parent's satisfaction with the quality of care received using a questionnaire (5-point Likert scale based survey questions with higher scores meaning better outcome)

  3. Reason for delay in presentation, diagnosis and treatment

    Time frame: 4 weeks

    As described by the parents and hospital staff

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Lagos State University

Other

Collaborators

  • Hydrocephalus Association

Registry information

Official study title

A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of the Barriers to Patients' Early Presentation, Diagnosis and Treatment in Childhood Hydrocephalus

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Apr 3, 2023
Registry last updated
Dec 15, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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