Hydrocephalus Research Paper

Alice Hicks
Professor April Pait
RAD 251 Clinical Education III
21 November 2014
No Shunts About It Hydrocephalus is a serious and sometimes life-threatening condition. It is a condition where excess cerebrospinal fluid builds up within the ventricles of the brain and causes excess pressure. Hydro refers to water and cephalus refers to the head, so hydrocephalus refers to excess water within the head. This condition can affect people at any age, but it is shown to be more prevalent in babies and within the older population. Once hydrocephalus is diagnosed a shunt can be surgically implanted that can alleviate the severe symptoms. The morbidity rate is high when diagnosed before serious damage has been achieved. We will look at the types of …show more content…
The excess fluid is then drained to another area of the body that will absorb the excess fluid. Each shunt has four main parts that need to be working properly to relieve any built up pressure. There is the upper catheter that is placed in the ventricle, the reservoir that the fluid is collected into, the valve that controls how much fluid is released and the lower catheter where the fluid is released to absorb into other areas of the body. There are several different types of shunts and they are each named for where they are placed and where the shunt will drain the excess fluid that needs to be absorbed. There is a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt that is placed within the ventricle of the brain where there is excess fluid and drains into the abdominal cavity where the fluid is slowly absorbed. Another shunt is the ventriculo-pleural shunt that is placed within the ventricle of the brain and drains the excess fluid into the pleural cavity outside of the lungs. There is also a ventriculo-atrial shunt that drains into the atrium of the heart. These shunts can be programmable or fixed pressure, depending on the amount of fluid that needs to be drained, the specific diagnosis and symptoms of each …show more content…
Shunts can be needed and placed at any age, but seems to be more prevalent in babies and the older population. This condition cannot be cured, but can be controlled most of the time with quick diagnosis and proper treatment. A patient who has had a shunt placed needs to always be aware of the symptoms, because the return of any of their particular symptoms can symbolize that the shunt is malfunctioning. Hydrocephalus does not differentiate between age or nationality. There can be life threatening complications if the patient does not stay vigilant. It is estimated that 50% of shunts fail within the first two years (Life-Threatening Complications of Hydrocephalus). The shunt can malfunction, develop an infection, become disengaged from where it was originally placed or there can be other complications. According to the US National Library of Medicine there was an 8 year study of patients who had shunt procedures. Of the 720 study patients that were included in the study, mechanical dysfunction occurred in 124 patients, which is 17.2% and shunt infection occurred in 44 of the patients which is 6.1%; of these 168 patients they required 375 reoperations (Korinek

Show More