THORACIC COMPLICATIONS OF VENTRICULOPERITONEAL SHUNTS - CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

THORACIC COMPLICATIONS OF ventriculoperitoneal shunts are rare, but po tentially serious. The authors report a case of a drainage of cerebros pinal fluid into the tracheobronchial tree through a peritoneal shunt catheter that migrated into the chest. After injection of contrast mat erial into the shunt, a plain radiograph of the chest revealed a bronc hogram. The symptoms resolved after a revision of the shunt. Published case reports of this and other thoracic complications of ventriculope ritoneal shunts are comprehensively reviewed. A classification of such complications into three types is proposed as follows: intrathoracic trauma during placement of a shunt, migration of the peritoneal cathet er into the chest (by either a supradiaphragmatic or a transdiaphragma tic route), and pleural effusion accompanying cerebrospinal fluid asci tes. The possible mechanisms and contributing factors are discussed.