Table 1.
Study characteristics and patient demographics
| Author (Year) | Country | Study design | Sample size (n) | Age (years) (mean ± SD or mean (range)) | Sex (% male) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Pre | Sim | Post | Pre | Sim | Post | Pre | Sim | |||
| Von der Brelie (2016) | Germany | RC | 37 | 27 | 10 | - | 42.8 ± 17.9 | - | NR | ||
| Lin (2019) | Taiwan | RC | 56 | 37 | 19 | - | 52.6 ± 15.6 | 57.5 ± 18.0 | - | 62.2 | 63.2 |
| Heo (2014) | Korea | RC | 51 | 19 | 32 | - | 55.3* | 57.3* | - | 68.4 | 56.2 |
| Rosinski (2020) | USA | RC | 40 | 22 | 18 | - | 45.0 ± 10.6 | 54.7 ± 10.1 | - | 40.9 | 16.7 |
| Ting (2020) | Taiwan | RC | 49 | 32 | 17 | - | 51.2 ± 17.5 | 57.4 ± 13.7 | - | 65.6 | 70.6 |
| Schuss (2015) | Germany | RC | 41 | 21 | 17 | 3 | 53.0 ± 18.0 | 52.0 ± 13.0 | 53.0 ± 18.0 | 42.0 | 41.0 |
| Urvas (2015) | UK & Finland | RC | 68 | 43 | 3 | 22 | 39.7 ± 22.5 | 41.2 ± 18.2 | 43.8 ± 24.8 | 46.5 | 59.1 |
| Gill (2021) | Korea | RC | 81 | 37 | 18 | 26 | 62.5 ± 12.4 | 60.9 ± 15.3 | 62.5 ± 12.4 | 57.1 | 33.3 |
| Zhang (2022) | China | RC | 84 | 40 | 22 | 24 | 39.2 ± 11.6 | 50.0 (43.0–57.0) | 47.7 (18.2) | 90.0 | 81.8 |
| Oh (2008) | Korea | RC | 23 | 13 | - | 10 | 41.0 (25.0–65.0) | - | 41.0 (25.0–65.0) | 60.0 | - |
| Author (Year) | Country | Indication for DC (n) | Bifrontal index (n) | Degree of brain bulging (skin flap convexity) (n) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post | Pre | Sim | Post | Pre | Sim | Post | Pre | Sim | Post | ||
| Von der Brelie (2016) | Germany | - |
TBI Stroke* |
- | NR | - | NR | - | |||
| Lin (2019) | Taiwan | - |
TBI (24) ICH (2) SAH (4) Infarct (6) SDH (1) |
TBI (15) ICH (2) Infarct (2) |
- | 0.39–0.46 (27) | 0.36–0.43 (10) | - |
Flaccid concave (11) Tense convex (26) |
Flaccid concave (8) Tense convex (11) |
- |
| Heo (2014) | Korea | - |
TBI (12) SAH (12) ICH (6) Infarct (1) IVH (1) |
TBI (12) SAH (12) ICH (6) Infarct (1) IVH (1) |
- |
≥ 0.40 (6) < 0.40 (13) |
≥ 0.40 (19) < 0.40 (13) |
- |
Flaccid concave (3) Flaccid partial convex (4) Tense convex (12) |
Flaccid concave (0) Flaccid partial convex (1) Tense convex (31) |
- |
| Rosinski (2020) | USA | - |
Vascular (18) Tumour/Infection (1) Other (3) |
Vascular (18) | - | NR | - | NR | - | ||
| Ting (2020) | Taiwan | - | NR | - |
> 0.50 (10) 0.40–0.50 (7) 0.30–0.40 (1) |
> 0.50 (4) 0.40–0.50 (4) 0.30–0.40 (9) |
- |
Flaccid concave (1) Flaccid partial convex (7) Tense convex (24) |
Flaccid concave (0) Flaccid partial convex (9) Tense convex (8) |
- | |
| Schuss (2015) | Germany | 42.0 |
TBI (10) SAH (10) ICH (2) Infarct (2) |
SAH (9) TBI (5) ICH (2) Infarct (1) |
TBI (10) SAH (10) ICH (2) Infarct (2) |
NR | NR | ||||
| Urvas (2015) | UK & Finland | 100.0 |
Hemorrhage (17) TBI (12) Infarct (4) Other (10) |
TBI (2) Other (1) |
TBI (10) Hemorrhage (4) Infarct (3) Other (5) |
NR | NR | ||||
| Gill (2021) | Korea | 57.1 |
TBI (16) SAH (12) ICH (5) Infarct (2) AVM (1) |
SAH (10) Infarct (3) TBI (2) ICH (2) AVM (1) |
TBI (11) SAH (9) ICH (4) Infarct (2) AVM (1) |
0.34 ± 0.03 (37) | 0.37 ± 0.08 (18) | 0.34 ± 0.03 (26) |
Flaccid concave (5) Tense convex (32) |
Flaccid concave (0) Tense convex (18) |
Flaccid concave (3) Tense convex (23) |
| Zhang (2022) | China | 70.8 |
TBI (20) ICH (14) SAH (6) |
TBI (13) ICH (6) SAH (3) |
TBI (17) ICH (5) SAH (2) |
NR |
Flaccid concave (1) Tense convex (39) |
Flaccid concave (3) Tense convex (19) |
Flaccid concave (9) Tense convex (15) |
||
| Oh (2008) | Korea | 61.5 |
TBI (9) Infarct (2) SAH (2) |
- |
TBI (7) Infarct (2) SAH (1) |
> 0.40 (13) | - | > 0.40 (10) | NR | ||
Baseline characteristics of included studies comparing pre-cranioplasty (CP) ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS), simultaneous CP-VPS, and post-CP VPS. Reported variables include study design, sample size, age, sex distribution, follow-up duration, indication for DC, radiographic indices used to define hydrocephalus (where available), and qualitative assessment of brain contour or bulging at the time of intervention. Data is reported at the study arm level where available. Not all variables were available for all timing strategies
Abbreviations & Symbols: CP Cranioplasty, DC Decompressive Craniectomy, VPS Ventriculoperitoneal Shunting, Pre VPS prior to CP, Sim VPS at the time of CP (i.e. simultaneous), Post VPS after CP, RC Retrospective Cohort, DC Decompressive Craniectomy, TBI Traumatic Brain Injury, ICH Intracerebral Hemorrhage, IVH Intraventricular Hemorrhage, SAH Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, SDH Subdural Hemorrhage, AVM Arteriovenous Malformation, NR Not Reported; *Cell where mean and/or standard deviation and/or range and/or n-number not reported