Ventriculitis
Ventriculitis | |
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Ventricular system (shaded) superimposed on an image of the brain depicting spatial arrangement | |
Specialty | Neurology |
Ventriculitis is the
Signs and symptoms
Early | Advanced | Severe |
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Headaches | Nausea and Vomiting | Hydrocephalus |
Neck/upper back pains | Vertigo | Brain abscess |
Painful cranial pressure | Slurred speech | Temporary loss of consciousness |
Dizziness | Mental Instability | Impaired mental function |
Confusion | Rigors | Death |
There is great deal of variety in the symptoms associated with ventriculitis. The symptoms vary based on a number of different factors including severity of inflammation, underlying cause, and the individual patient.
Patients often present with
The symptoms vary greatly, in part, because of the underlying or causing infection. While the
The progression of the disease is also largely dependent on the nature of the specific case. Depending on the underlying infection, the way it entered the brain, and the type and timing of treatment, the infection may spread or withdraw on the order of months or days. Ventriculitis is a very serious condition and should be treated early to ensure as little lasting damage as possible.
Cause
Ventricles | |
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Identifiers | |
MeSH | D058565 |
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy |
Ventriculitis is caused by an infection of the ventricles, causing an immune response in the lining, which in turn, leads to inflammation. The ventriculitis, is in truth, a complication of the initial infection or abnormality. The underlying infection can come in the form of a number of different bacteria or viruses. The data seems to point to
Patients that have had invasive brain surgery or procedures are considered to be the most at risk for experiencing ventriculitis. Two procedures, in particular have been studied extensively due to their high rate of ventriculitis contractions post operation. The first group consists of patients that have had an external ventricular drain implanted to allow physicians to reduce the intracranial pressure they experience. The duration that the drain is implanted varies by necessity, however, the longer the drain is in, the more likely an infection will occur.[5] The second group consists of patients that have an implanted intracranial stent. Both groups of patients have a much higher rate of ventriculitis than the general populace, though there is very little supporting evidence due to the lack of definition of ventriculitis as frequent misdiagnosis. Nearly 25% of patients with an external ventricular drain experience infection-based meningitis or ventriculitis.[1]
Diagnosis
Ventriculitis is commonly diagnosed using a variety of tests or procedures. When a physician suspects that a patient has ventriculitis, the first step is typically to ascertain the presence of the inflammation using
After determining whether a patient shows signs of ventriculitis, the doctor may choose to pursue a more specific and useful diagnosis to find the cause of the ventriculitis. This is done by obtaining a sample of cerebrospinal fluid, most commonly via a procedure called a
Though they present with similar symptoms and often occur in tandem,
Treatment
Treatment of ventriculitis is critical. If left untreated, it could lead to severe brain damage and even death in some cases. Currently, the only commonly employed treatments of ventriculitis involve an
There is a great deal of research focused around prevention of ventriculitis. It is crucial that any procedure involving exposing the brain is performed with the utmost care, as infections in the brain are very dangerous and potentially deadly. When patients undergo such procedures, they are often monitored closely over the next several days to ensure that there were no infections and any instance of even a small headache is treated very seriously. It is also necessary to monitor the intracranial pressure of the patients often enough to observe significant changes that could indicate the presence of and infection and ensuing ventriculitis. It is important not to measure the pressure too often, however, as it could in fact lead to infection.
Current research
Due to the poor definition of the condition that is ventriculitis, there is still a great deal that is not known about this dangerous condition. While other, similar conditions, such as meningitis or encephalitis, have been thoroughly researched, ventriculitis is a very loose grouping of conditions characterized by the fact that the lining of the ventricles is inflamed. Because no solid definition has been accepted across the medical community, research in the subject has been slow to progress.[2] However, most common research into ventriculitis has been focused on the main points of causation, demographic information, and effectiveness of treatments and prevention methods.
Causation
One of the key areas of research for ventriculitis is discovering and defining exactly what causes it. There are many
Demographics
Currently, there is very little understanding as to who is at increased risk for ventriculitis, other than those who have undergone neurosurgery or procedures involving brain exposure. Even then, current clinical practices can't predict which patients will be affected.[10] In order to predict which populations should be focused on, researchers must gather more case information about who is diagnosed with ventriculitis and how they present. In essence, the medical community must compile data of as many details as possible from each case so that more generalized conclusions may be drawn.
Treatment and prevention
So little is currently known about how ventriculitis should be defined and those it affects that even less can be known about prevention methods. While treatment is fairly standard for any infection to some degree, prevention is a different matter. One popular theory is the use of