title: Middle cerebral artery pulsatility in children with blocked cerebrospinal fluid shunts.
abstract: The application of transcranial Doppler ultrasound to the diagnosis of blocked ventriculo-peritoneal shunts was studied in 63 children. Thirty two of these required shunt revision, whereas in 31 children symptoms resolved without surgery. The group of children requiring shunt revision had a significantly higher mean Gosling pulsatility index, than both the group of children whose symptoms resolved and a group of age-matched controls (p less than 0.001). Those with a raised pulsatility index were more likely to have higher intracranial pressure. There was no correlation between CT scan changes and the pulsatility index.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital for Sick Children, London, UK.
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: I K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Pople
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts; D004453:Echoencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D007427:Intracranial Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D011674:Pulse / Q000502:physiology*; D012086:Reoperation