title: Automated intracranial pressure-controlled cerebrospinal fluid external drainage with LiquoGuard.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  LiquoGuard is a new device for intracranial pressure (ICP)-controlled drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This present study evaluates the accuracy of ICP measurement via the LiquoGuard device in comparison with Spiegelberg. Thus, we compared data ascertained from simultaneous measurement of ICP using tip-transducer and tip-sensor devices.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1,764 monitoring hours in 15 patients (range, 52-219 h) were analysed. All patients received an intraventricular Spiegelberg III probe with the drainage catheter connected to the LiquoGuard system. ICP reading of both devices was performed on an hourly basis. Statistical analysis was done by applying Pearson correlation and Wilcoxon-matched pair test (p < 0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean ICP values were 11 ± 5 mmHg (Spiegelberg) and 10 ± 7 mmHg (LiquoGuard); the values measured with both devices correlated well (p = 0.001; Pearson correlation =0.349; n = 1,764). In two of the 15 patients with slit ventricles, episodes of significant differences in measured values could be observed. Both patients suffering from slit ventricles failed to produce reliable measurement with the external transducer of the LiquoGuard.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LiquoGuard is a valuable new device for ICP-controlled CSF drainage. However, LiquoGuard tends to provide misleading results in slit ventricles. Thus, before these drawbacks are further analysed, the authors recommend additional ICP measurement with internal tip-sensor devices to avoid dangerous erroneous interpretation of ICP data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Saarland University, 66421 Homburg, Saar, Germany. stefan.linsler@uks.eu
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Linsler
authors.forename: Mareike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmidtke
authors.forename: Wolf Ingo
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Steudel
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiefer
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oertel
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000601:surgery*; D015170:Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D004322:Drainage / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007427:Intracranial Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D014160:Transducers, Pressure