RT Book, Section
A1 Cho, Christine S.
A1 Posner, Jill C.
A2 Zaoutis, Lisa B.
A2 Chiang, Vincent W.
SR Print(0)
ID 1146125294
T1 Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunt Assessment
T2 Comprehensive Pediatric Hospital Medicine, 2e
YR 2017
FD 2017
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071829281
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1146125294
RD 2024/04/18
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.