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Management of Shunt Related Infections

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Hot Topics in Infection and Immunity in Children VIII

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 719))

Abstract

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts are used to reduce the increased pressure inside the brain’s ventricles and divert that fluid to other body sites for absorption. The proximal portion of the shunt is usually placed in one of the cerebral ventricles, or sometimes inside a brain cyst, subarachnoidal, or lumbar spaces and the distal portion can be internalized or externalized. Internalized devices are usually placed in the peritoneal cavity (Ventriculo-peritoneal ‘VP’ shunt) or less likely in the heart atrium (Ventriculo-atrial ‘VA’ shunt) and rarely in the pleural cavity (Ventriculo-pleural shunt). Sometimes shunts can be externalized temporarily for CSF therapeutic diversion or intracranial pressure monitoring (External Ventricular Drain ‘EVD’) and sometimes they are externalized for administration of cancer chemotherapy into a brain tumor or administration of antibiotics (Ommaya reservoir).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious and Immunological Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada

    Mona Al-Dabbagh & Simon Dobson

Authors
  1. Mona Al-Dabbagh
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  2. Simon Dobson
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Correspondence to Mona Al-Dabbagh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Children's Hosp., Dept. Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia

    Nigel Curtis

  2. Institute of Child Life and Health, UBHT Education Centre, University of Bristol, Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol, BS2 8AE, United Kingdom

    Adam Finn

  3. University of Oxford, Level 4,John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom

    Andrew J. Pollard

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Al-Dabbagh, M., Dobson, S. (2012). Management of Shunt Related Infections. In: Curtis, N., Finn, A., Pollard, A. (eds) Hot Topics in Infection and Immunity in Children VIII. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 719. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0204-6_9

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