View clinical trials related to Hydrocephalus.
Filter by:External ventricular catheters are used for intracranial pressure monitoring and temporary cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage in neurosurgery. The incidence of ventriculostomy-related cerebrospinal fluid infections had been quoted as between 2.2% to 10.4% in the more recent literature. Previous prospective studies in the investigators' unit have shown that the use of dual antibiotics prophylaxis in patients with external ventricular drain was associated with decreased incidence of CSF infection but was complicated with opportunistic extracranial infections. The current practice is to cover with prophylactic dual antibiotics unless guided by microbiology results for all patients with external ventricular drain. In recent years, cerebrospinal fluid shunt catheters impregnated with antimicrobial agents have been available. Experimental studies have shown that they provide protection against staphylococcal aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci strains for between 42 days and 56 days. Theoretically, they provide the antibiotic prophylaxis locally without the associated complications of systemic antibiotics. It is hypothesized that the use of antibiotic-impregnated catheters instead of systemic antibiotic prophylaxis will not increase the rate of cerebrospinal fluid infection, will decrease the rate of opportunistic/nosocomial infections and improves the overall outcome in these patients; that would convert into a reduction in treatment cost of these patients.
The purpose of this Registry is to compare shunt/catheter-related infection rates among various shunt systems when used according to hospital standard of care to treat hydrocephalus.
The overall aim of the registry is to develop a longitudinal, observational database that is focused on adult patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) that can be used as a source of clinical information for individual surgeons, as well as a national data repository for scientific inquiry and publications.
This study evaluates the efficacy of shunt operation for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, and determines the diagnostic value of noninvasive procedures commonly practiced in the clinic.
The purpose of this study is to determine the agreement rate between the CODMAN Valve Position Verification (VPV) adjustment outcome (reprogramming) and X-ray verification in order to support an alternative to X-ray confirmation with respect to the valve adjustment process.
The brain and spinal cord are surrounded by fluid called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The CSF flows through channels in the brain and around the spinal cord. Occasionally, people are born with malformations of these channels. Syringomyelia is a pocket within the CSF channels that results from abnormal CSF flow. Syringomyelia is associated with problems in the nervous system. Patients with syringomyelia may be unable to detect sensations of pain and heat. If the condition is not treated it can worsen. Treatment of this condition is surgical. It requires that the flow of CSF is returns to normal. There are many different treatment options, but no one procedure has been shown to be significantly better than any other. In this study, researchers would like to learn more about how the CSF pressure and flow contribute to the progression of syringomyelia. Ultrasounds and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be used to evaluate the anatomy of the brain. Researchers hope that information gathered about anatomy and measures of CSF pressure and flow can be used later to develop an optimal surgical treatment for syringomyelia.