Abdominal Cerebrospinal Fluid Pseudocysts in Children: A Complication of Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt

Abstract

Abstract Abdominal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pseudocyst is a rare complication of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt. It is characterized by collection of cerebrospinal fluid in the peritoneal cavity, containing the distal end of the VP shunt catheter and is surrounded by a wall composed of fibrous tissue without an epithelial lining. In this article, we report four cases of abdominal cerebrospinal fluid pseudocyst in children with VP shunt, performed for tuberculous meningitis with hydrocephalus. We have described the etiopathogenesis, the symptomatology, the diagnostic investigations, the treatment method adopted, and proposed a simple and effective treatment protocol that has resulted in rapid resolution of symptoms in all our patients. Also, one of our cases had the largest abdominal CSF pseudocyst reported in the literature with respect to weight and height of the child.

Keywords

• abdominal cerebrospinal fluid pseudocyst
• ventriculoperitoneal shunt
• ventriculoatrial shunt