• Xinjie Fu, Yuhang Chen, Weike Duan, Haixin Yang, Jiulin Xu, Xiaobing Cheng, and Hongri Zhang.
• Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 Aug 6; 100 (31): e26770e26770.

ObjectiveCurrent methods for the diagnosis of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt malfunction lack specific standards; therefore, it may be missed or misdiagnosed. Hence, providing a reliable diagnostic method will help improve the accuracy of preoperative decision-making. Therefore, the aim of the study was to provide a new method for the diagnosis of VP shunt malfunction.MethodsAfter in vitro testing, we enrolled a total of 12 patients with VP shunt malfunction. Before revision surgery, 0.1 mL of a 5% sodium valproate (SV) solution was injected into the reservoir; 0.1 mL of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was withdrawn 20 minutes later from the reservoir to measure the SV concentration. The process was repeated on the seventh day after surgery and compared with the preoperative results.ResultsThe mean ± standard deviation preoperative SV concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid was greater than the postoperative concentration (5967.8 ± 1281.3 vs 391.1 ± 184.6 μg/mL, P = .001).ConclusionThe proposed method is a reliable, safe, and relatively simple alternative for the diagnosis of VP shunt malfunction and further provides a reference for treatment.Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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