Background Programmable ventricular shunt valves are commonly used to treat hydrocephalus. They can be adjusted to allow for varying amounts of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow using an external magnetic programming device, and are susceptible to maladjustment from inadvertent exposure to magnetic fields. Case Description We describe the case of a 3-month-old girl treated for hydrocephalus with...

We report a rare and unique complication of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt malfunction. A progressively expansile, CSF-containing occipital intradiploic cyst developed in a 15-year-old boy at the site of cystoperitoneal shunt draining a Dandy-Walker cyst; the shunt was placed when the boy was 4 years old. A proposed pathogenesis of the lesion is discussed.

For patients with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts, culture of the CSF remains the most valuable tool in the evaluation of suspected shunt infections. To detect anaerobic Propionibacterium sp., a well-described cause of these infections, many clinical microbiology laboratories routinely employ a broth medium as an adjunct to solid media. The use of broth, however, creates a diagnostic dilemma s...

Cryptococcal meningitis usually occurs in immunocompromised patients, and shows central nervous symptoms. Here, we report an unusual case of a patient with cryptococcal meningitis, who presented himself with mimicking acute pancreatitis, complicated with a large abdominal cyst at the tip of the ventriculoperitoneal (V-P) shunt. Finally, the abdominal cyst fluid was aspirated and confirmed as Cr...

Sir, Ceftaroline is a cephalosporin antibiotic indicated for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. Ceftaroline has been used for non-FDA-approved indications, including osteomyelitis, endocarditis, bacteraemia and epidural abscesses. – 5 Data on use for meningitis are limited to two rabbit models, showing penetration into...

UNLABELLED A common (5%) complication of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt systems is infection. CSF cytochemical findings have been used to choose the initial empirical antimicrobial treatment. The objective was to evaluate the results of cytochemical and microbiological analyses of CSF samples obtained from children with pyogenic ventriculitis associated to ventriculoperitoneal shunt systems. T...

OBJECT Despite many efforts at reduction, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt infections are a major cause of morbidity in shunt surgery, occurring in 5-15% of cases. To attempt to reduce the shunt infection rate at our institution, we added topical vancomycin (intrashunt and perishunt) to our existing shunt infection prevention protocol in 2012. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study ...

BACKGROUND ShuntCheck (Neuro Diagnostic Devices, Inc., Trevose, Pennsylvania) is a new device designed to detect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow in a shunt by sensing skin temperature downstream from a region of CSF cooled by an ice cube. OBJECTIVE To understand its accuracy and utility, we evaluated the use of this device during routine office visits as well as during workup for suspected shu...

OBJECTIVE To design a computerised infusion test to compensate for the disadvantages of Katzman's lumbar infusion method: inadequate accuracy of estimation of the resistance to cerebrospinal fluid outflow and poor predictive value in normal pressure hydrocephalus. METHODS Accuracy was improved by intracranial pressure signal processing and model analysis for measurement of cerebrospinal compe...

A 31-year-old woman with congenital hydrocephalus status post ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement 23 years earlier presented with abdominal distention. The patient denied fever, headache, or sensory or motor abnormalities. Examination was notable for a tense abdomen. CT of the abdomen and pelvis demonstrated a massive, loculated, CSFoma, or CSF pseudocyst (figure). Ventriculoperitoneal shunts ...