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Does drainage hole size influence adhesion on ventricular catheters?

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Abstract

Purpose

Ventricular catheter drainage holes of shunt systems used to treat hydrocephalus obstruct with tissue commonly comprising monocytes/macrophages, astrocytes, and giant cells. Despite high rates of obstruction, very few studies have manipulated drainage hole orientation, number, position, or diameter. By altering the hole diameter but maintaining a constant hole surface area, we manipulated shear stress through the holes, which we hypothesized would change the degree of macrophage and astrocyte attachment.

Methods

First, a hole fabrication method was chosen from two fabrication techniques including punched holes in catheter tubing and constructed holes using nanofabrication techniques.

Results

Punched holes were chosen to vary hole size from 282 to 975 μm because (1) samples were geometrically similar to commercially available ventricular catheters without significant microscopic differences in roughness values and (2) total macrophage and astrocyte adhesion on the punched holes was not significantly different from adhesion on the commercially available catheters. Overall adhesion from least to most adherent appeared to follow 975 < 754 ≈ 500 < 282-μm hole diameter for macrophages and 975 < 500 < 754 < 282 for astrocytes with an obvious dependency on catheter orientation with respect to the horizontal; a dependency to the proximity of the hole to the catheter tip was not observed.

Conclusion

This study suggests that macrophage and astrocyte adhesion generally decreases with increasing hole diameter under flow conditions and underscores the necessity for future work to examine how hole diameter impacts inflammatory-based shunt obstruction.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the encouragement and suggestions provided by Marion Walker, MD, and John Kestle, MD, as well as technical aid provided by Daniel Harris, MS, and Brian Baker. We thank Kristin Kraus, MS for editorial assistance. Funding was provided by the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Primary Children’s Medical Center, the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine, and STARS-kids (Seeking Techniques Advancing Research in Shunts).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Carolyn A. Harris & James P. McAllister II

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Primary Children’s Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT, 84113, USA

    Carolyn A. Harris & James P. McAllister II

  3. Department of Physiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA

    James P. McAllister II

  4. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Utah, 175 North Medical Drive, CNC 3305, Salt Lake City, UT, 84132, USA

    Carolyn A. Harris

Authors
  1. Carolyn A. Harris
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  2. James P. McAllister II
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Correspondence to Carolyn A. Harris.

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Harris, C.A., McAllister, J.P. Does drainage hole size influence adhesion on ventricular catheters?. Childs Nerv Syst 27, 1221–1232 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-011-1430-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-011-1430-0

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