Metal external ventricular drainage catheters in the treatment of persistent ventriculitis - an old story made new: technical note and preliminary results.

Aim: Conventional ventricular catheters have proven to be ineffective in the drainage of the cerebrospinal fluid in the long run in terms of infection rates. Consequently, the development and clinical evaluation of new catheters is urgently needed.

Material And Methods: We implanted a ventricular needle made of stainless steel in 3 neurosurgical patients in whom multiple conventional (silicon) ventricular catheters had been previously implanted.