scholarly journals Efficacy and safety of the Miethke programmable differential pressure valve (proGAV®2.0): a single-centre retrospective analysis

Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Hall ◽  
Conor S. Gillespie ◽  
Dawn Hennigan ◽  
Veejay Bagga ◽  
Conor Mallucci ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Achieving decompression without CSF over-drainage remains a challenge in hydrocephalus. Differential pressure valves are a popular treatment modality, with evidence suggesting that incorporation of gravitational units helps minimise over-drainage. This study seeks to describe the utility of the proGAV®2.0 programmable valve in a paediatric population. Methods Clinical records and imaging of all patients fitted with proGAV®2.0 valves and Miethke fixed-pressure valves between 2014 and 2019 at our tertiary centre were analysed. Patient demographics, indication for shunt and valve insertion/revision and time to shunt/valve revision were collected. Ventricular linear metrics (fronto-occipital horn ratio (FOHR) and fronto-occipital horn width ratio (FOHWR)) were collected pre- and post-valve insertion. Microsoft Excel and SPSS v24 were used for data collection and statistical analysis. Results Eighty-eight proGAV®2.0 valves were inserted in a population of 77 patients (n = 45 males (58%), mean age 5.1 years (IQR: 0.4–11.0 years)). A total of 102 Miethke fixed-pressure valves were inserted over the same time period. Median follow-up was 17.5 months (1.0–47.3). One (1.1%) proGAV®2.0 was revised due to over-drainage, compared to 2 (1.9%) fixed-pressure valves (p > 0.05). ProGAV®2.0 insertion resulted in a significant decrease in the mean number of revisions per patient per year (1.77 vs 0.25; p = 0.01). Overall shunt system survival with the proGAV®2.0 was 80.4% at 12 months, and mean time to revision was 37.1 months, compared to 31.0 months (95%CI: 25.7–36.3) and 58.3% in fixed-pressure valves (p < 0.01). Significant decreases were seen following proGAV®2.0 insertion in both FOHR and FOHWR, by 0.014 (95%CI: 0.006–0.023, p = 0.002) and 0.037 (95%CI: 0.005–0.069, p = 0.024) respectively. Conclusion The proGAV®2.0 provides effective decompression of hydrocephalic patients, significantly reduces the number of valve revisions per patient and had a significantly greater mean time to revision than fixed-pressure valves.

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercedes Guilabert ◽  
Alba Martínez-García ◽  
Marina Sala-González ◽  
Olga Solas ◽  
José Joaquín Mira

Abstract Objective To measure the experience of the person having a rare disease in order to identify objectives for optimal care in the health care received by these patients. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain involving patients associated with the Spanish Rare Diseases Federation [Federación Española de Enfermedades Raras] (FEDER). A modified version of the PREM IEXPAC [Instrumento para evaluar la Experiencia del Paciente Crónico] instrument was used (IEXPAC-rare-diseases). Scores ranged between 0 (worst experience) and 10 (best experience). Results A total of 261 caregivers (in the case of paediatric population) and patients with rare diseases (response rate 54.4%) replied. 232 (88.9%) were adult patients and 29 (11.1%) caregivers of minor patients. Most males, 227 (87%), with an average age of 38 (SD 13.6) years. The mean time since confirmation of diagnosis was 7.8 (SD 8.0) years. The score in this PREM was 3.5 points out to 10 (95%CI 3.2–3.8, SD 2.0). Caregivers of paediatric patients scored higher, except for coordination of social and healthcare services. Conclusions There are wide and important areas for improvement in the care of patients with rare diseases. This study involves a first assesment of the experience of patients with rare diseases in Spain.


Author(s):  
Michele Shi-Ying Tey ◽  
Gayathri Govindasamy ◽  
Francesca Martina Vendargon

Abstract Background Cat scratch disease (CSD) is a systemic illness caused by the gram-negative bacillus, Bartonella henselea, which can occasionally involve the ocular structures. The objective of this study is to evaluate the various clinical presentations of ocular bartonellosis at our institution. A retrospective review of the clinical records of 13 patients (23 eyes) with ocular manifestations of Bartonella infections over a 3-year period between January 2016 to December 2018 was undertaken at our institution. Results The diagnosis was made based on clinical findings and in addition, with the support of the evidence of Bartonella hensalae IgG and/or IgM. Small retinal white lesions were the most common ocular findings in this series of patients (82.6% of eyes, 76.9% of patients). Neuroretinitis was the second most common finding (47.8% of eyes, 69.2% of patients), followed by exudative retinal detachment involving the macula (34.8% of eyes, 53.8% of patients) and Parinaud’s oculoglandular syndrome (17.4% of eyes, 23.1% of patients). Other findings like isolated optic disc oedema without macular star (8.7% of eyes, 15.4% of patients) and vitritis (4.3% of eyes, 7.7% of patients) were also observed. Ten patients (76.9%) had bilateral ocular involvement. Most of the patients were young, immunocompetent and had systemic symptoms like fever prior to their ocular symptoms. The visual acuity (VA) at initial presentation ranged from 6/6 to hand movement (mean, 6/20), and at final visit 6/6 to 6/60, (mean, 6/9). 91.7% of patients were treated with antibiotics. Only 2 patients received oral corticosteroids together with antibiotics due to very poor vision on presentation. The visual prognosis of ocular bartonellosis is generally good with 16 (88.9%) of 23 eyes having VA of 6/12 or better at final follow-up visit. Conclusion Small foci of retinal white lesions were the most common manifestation of ocular bartonellosis in this series, followed by neuroretinitis, though an array of other ocular findings may also occur. Therefore, we should consider bartonella infection as a possible differential diagnosis in those patients.


2009 ◽  
Vol 65 (suppl_6) ◽  
pp. ons100-ons109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Mirone ◽  
Salvatore Chibbaro ◽  
Luigi Schiabello ◽  
Serena Tola ◽  
Bernard George

Abstract Objective: En plaque sphenoid wing meningiomas are complex tumors involving the sphenoid wing, the orbit, and sometimes the cavernous sinus. Complete removal is difficult, so these tumors have high rates of recurrence and postoperative morbidity. The authors report a series of 71 patients with sphenoid wing meningiomas that were managed surgically. Methods: The clinical records of 71 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for sphenoid wing meningiomas at Lariboisière Hospital, Paris, were prospectively collected in a database during a 20-year period and analyzed for presenting symptoms, surgical technique, clinical outcome, and follow-up. Results: Among the 71 patients (mean age, 52. 7 years; range, 12–79 years), 62 were females and 9 were males. The most typical symptoms recorded were proptosis in 61 patients (85.9%), visual impairment in 41 patients (57.7%), and oculomotor paresis in 9 patients (12.7%). Complete removal was achieved in 59 patients (83%). At 6 months of follow-up, magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed residual tumor in 12 patients (9 in the cavernous sinus and 3 around the superior orbital fissure). Mean follow-up was 76.8 months (range, 12–168 months). Tumor recurrence was recorded in 3 of 59 patients (5%) with total macroscopic removal. Among the patients with subtotal resection, tumor progression was observed in 3 of 12 patients (25%; 2 patients with grade III and 1 patient with grade IV resection). Mean time to recurrence was 43.3 months (range, 32–53 months). Conclusion: Surgical management of patients with sphenoid wing meningiomas cannot be uniform; it must be tailored on a case-by-case basis. Successful resection requires extensive intra- and extradural surgery. We recommend optic canal decompression in all patients to ameliorate and/or preserve visual function.


2017 ◽  
Vol 102 (12) ◽  
pp. 1137-1142
Author(s):  
Shuenn-Nan Chiu ◽  
Wei-Lun Wu ◽  
Chun-Wei Lu ◽  
Wei-Chieh Tseng ◽  
Kun-Lang Wu ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Kiran Gangadhar S. ◽  
Sonee Thingujam ◽  
Jayita Poduval

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Adenoidectomy is one of the most frequently applied surgical procedures in the paediatric population, either alone or in conjunction with tonsillectomy and/or insertion of ventilation tubes. The main purpose of the adenoidectomy is to eliminate the nasopharyngeal respiratory pathogens and to remove nasal airway obstruction. Aim of the study was to compare the outcomes of conventional and endoscopic assisted curettage adenoidectomy.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> In this comparative study, 50 patients were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 (25 patients) underwent endoscopic curettage adenoidectomy and group 2 (25 patients) underwent conventional curettage adenoidectomy. Intraoperative time, complications and postoperative pain were recorded.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> 72% in group 1 and 64% in group 2 had grade 2 adenoid hypertrophy. 68% in group 1 and 64% in group 2 had a moderate degree of obstruction in lateral view of soft tissue X-ray nasopharynx. The mean time taken for surgery in group 1 was 13.29±3.28 minutes, and in group 2,6.28±2.31 minutes. Minimal loss of blood was recorded in group 1 with less than 20 ml, whereas in group 2, the blood loss was high; 30% of patients had blood loss more than 30 ml. In group 1, the mean VAS was 3.25 and 2.55 in group 2 2.55. In group 1, 4% of patients had primary haemorrhage and in group 2, 8% of patients had primary haemorrhage. No patient had velopharyngeal dysfunction in either group.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> More operative time but less blood loss were noted in endoscopic adenoidectomy. Intraoperative visualisation of the nasopharynx in endoscopic procedures showed no significant advantage over conventional adenoidectomy.</p>


2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-47
Author(s):  
Yasuo Aihara ◽  
Ichiro Shoji ◽  
Yoshikazu Okada

Object The CSF shunt valve is a medical device whose main function is to regulate intracranial pressure and drain excess CSF. The authors have developed a new therapeutic method for treating hydrocephalus, namely the tandem shunt valve system, which has the potential of flexibly controlling the CSF flow rate and intracranial pressure in patients. Methods The properties of the tandem system were verified by performing in vitro experiments. An in vitro system with a manometer was built to measure pressure and flow rates of water in open systems using the Codman Hakim Programmable Valve and the Strata adjustable pressure programmable valve. A single valve and 2 single shunt valves connected in series (the tandem shunt valve system) were connected to the manometer to check the final pressure. Results Conventional single shunt valve systems require valve pressures to be set higher to slow down the CSF flow rate, which inevitably results in a higher final pressure. On the other hand, the tandem shunt valve system uses the combination of 2 valves to slow the CSF flow rate without increasing the final pressure. Conclusions The authors succeeded in experimentally demonstrating in vitro results of tandem systems and their effectiveness by applying a model to show that the valve with the higher pressure setting determined the final pressure of the entire system and the flow rate became slower than single shunt valve systems.


2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 614-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinaga Kajimoto ◽  
Tomio Ohta ◽  
Hiroji Miyake ◽  
Masanori Matsukawa ◽  
Daiji Ogawa ◽  
...  

Object. The purpose of this study is to clarify the whole pressure environment of the ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt system in patients with successfully treated hydrocephalus and to determine which factor of the pressure environment has a preventive effect on overdrainage.Methods. Thirteen patients with hydrocephalus who had been treated with VP shunt therapy by using a Codman– Hakim programmable valve without incidence of overdrainage were examined. The authors evaluated intracranial pressure (ICP), intraabdominal pressure (IAP), hydrostatic pressure (HP), and the perfusion pressure (PP) of the shunt system with the patients both supine and sitting.With patients supine, ICP, IAP, and HP were 4.6 ± 3 mm Hg, 5.7 ± 3.3 mm Hg, and 3.3 ± 1 mm Hg, respectively. As a result, the PP was only 2.2 ± 4.9 mm Hg. When the patients sat up, the IAP increased to 14.7 ± 4.8 mm Hg, and ICP decreased to −14.2 ± 4.5 mm Hg. The increased IAP and decreased ICP offset 67% of the HP (42.9 ± 3.5 mm Hg), and consequently the PP (14 ± 6.3 mm Hg) corresponded to only 33% of HP.Conclusions. The results observed in patients indicated that IAP as well as ICP play an important role in VP shunt therapy and that the increased IAP and the decreased ICP in patients placed in the upright position allow them to adapt to the siphoning effect and for overdrainage thereby to be avoided.


2020 ◽  
pp. bjophthalmol-2020-317356
Author(s):  
Kate Elspeth Leahy ◽  
Katelyn MacNeill ◽  
Jeff Locke ◽  
Stephanie Sobey ◽  
Stephen P Kraft ◽  
...  

AimTo grade extraocular motility in the field of action of each extraocular muscle following superotemporal glaucoma drainage device (GDD) implantation in a paediatric population and to investigate which drainage device (Ahmed vs Baerveldt) yields less extraocular motility disturbance.MethodsCross-sectional study of children with a GDD implanted consecutively by a single surgeon who underwent ocular motility examination by two masked orthoptists. Ductions in the cardinal positions were graded. Ocular alignment, visual acuity, binocularity, stereopsis and intraocular pressure were also measured, and patient charts were reviewed.ResultsThirty children each had one eye included. Twenty-one eyes had an Ahmed GDD and 9 had a Baerveldt GDD. Mean time between GDD insertion and ocular motility exam was 68 months in the Ahmed group and 19 months in the Baerveldt group. Exotropia was present in 46% and vertical heterotropia in 46% of children post-GDD insertion. Thirty-three percent of eyes had a moderate or severe limitation of elevation in abduction, 30% of elevation in adduction, 10% of abduction and 10% of adduction. There was a trend towards more eyes in the Ahmed group (62%) having at least a moderate limitation in ocular motility (−2 or worse; scale −1 to −4) compared with the Baerveldt group (22%).ConclusionStrabismus is common in children with GDDs. Our motility and alignment findings are consistent with either a mass effect of the device and bleb and/or scarring beneath the plate in the quadrant of the GDD causing dysmotility, most commonly limitation towards the GDD.


Rheumatology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin D Clarke ◽  
Mark D Russell ◽  
Andrew I Rutherford ◽  
James B Galloway ◽  
John Stack

Abstract Background Gout is the most common cause of a hot swollen joint, and a major contributor to inpatient rheumatology workload. Recently published data demonstrated that hospital admissions due to gout increased by 59% in England from 2006 - 2017. The mean length of stay for a gout admission was 6 days in 2017; a figure that has not changed significantly over the last decade. We hypothesised that a key contributing factor to prolonged hospital stays in patients presenting with gout attacks is delayed joint aspiration and synovial fluid analysis. We investigated time to joint aspiration, and time taken to obtain a crystal analysis result, in acute rheumatology referrals at a large tertiary centre. Methods Electronic Health Records (EHR) system data were accessed for all joint aspirate crystal analyses in a 4-month window in 2017. EHR system documentation contains all clinical notes, electronic referrals, and laboratory requests with indicative coded timestamps. Pre- and post-aspirate differential diagnoses were compiled from the clinical record. Manual verification of the clinical records ascertained whether there was any delay in discharge pertaining to a crystal analysis. For representation, time figures were rounded to the nearest hour. Results Over a 4-month period, 38 patients who had been referred to the inpatient rheumatology team at King’s College Hospital had crystal analysis performed following joint aspiration; 24 from an emergency department setting, and 14 from an inpatient ward setting. The proportions of these cases by articular distribution (with the specific joint aspirated in brackets) were: 55% monoarthritis (knee), 16% oligoarthritis (knee), 16% polyarthritis (knee), 10% polyarthritis (wrist), 3% monoarthritis (elbow). Mean time from rheumatology referral to joint aspiration was 7 hours (range 1-21; median 5; IQR 3-8). The mean time from sample acquisition to crystal analysis result was 20 hours (range 1-95; median 16; IQR 4-21). Discharges for 17/38 (45%) patients were pending crystal analysis results, of which 10/17 (59%) patients were discharged without results. Rheumatology clinician pre-test diagnostic accuracy was 55%. Comparing pre-aspirate diagnosis with final diagnosis, proportionately septic arthritis was over-diagnosed, whilst gout was under-diagnosed. Conclusion Gout remains a difficult condition to promptly differentiate and treat in hospital. Clinician workload and joint aspiration burden are rising due to global incidence trends. A move to establish a “7-day NHS” and significant bed pressures have developed since the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) hot swollen joint guideline was published. In our centre, inadequate crystal diagnostics appear to be driving prolonged length of stay. Further evaluation of causal factors in the delay of recognition, referral and diagnostics is required. Through application of quality improvement methodology, process-mapping and driver diagrams we plan to implement a point-of-care testing (POCT) and door-to-needle (DTN) programme, researching how to improve the gout patient’s experience. Disclosures B.D. Clarke None. M.D. Russell None. A.I. Rutherford None. J.B. Galloway None. J. Stack None.


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