TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunt Assessment A1 - Cho, Christine S. A1 - Posner, Jill C. A2 - Zaoutis, Lisa B. A2 - Chiang, Vincent W. Y1 - 2017 N1 - T2 - Comprehensive Pediatric Hospital Medicine, 2e AB - Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt systems are used to treat hydrocephalus by draining excess CSF to an alternative location in the body. A shunt has three segments: a proximal catheter, a valve and reservoir or reservoirs, and a distal catheter. The proximal catheter is commonly placed in a ventricle of the brain, but it may also be placed in a cyst. The valve of the shunt system controls the drainage of CSF. Some examples of valve mechanisms include regulation by differential pressure, siphon resistance (which prevents overdrainage in the upright position), flow regulation (in which different flow rates change the regulation mechanism), and external adjustment. Shunt systems often have one or two reservoirs (sometimes referred to as bubbles) that can be either part of or separate from the valve. CSF can be accessed from the reservoir to help diagnose shunt infection or malfunction. The distal catheter is commonly inserted into the peritoneal cavity, but it can also be placed in the right atrium, pleural cavity, and rarely, the gallbladder or ureters. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/25 UR - accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1146125294 ER -