Additive value of nuclear medicine shuntograms to computed tomography for suspected cerebrospinal fluid shunt obstruction in the pediatric emergency department.

Objective: To measure the predictive value of nuclear medicine studies (cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] shuntograms) and radiographic studies (computed tomographic [CT] scans) in a cohort of children undergoing evaluation for suspected shunt obstruction in a tertiary care pediatric emergency department (ED).

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients younger than 18 years who presented to the pediatric ED of the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario and had both CT of the head and a CSF shuntogram ordered by the attending pediatric emergency medicine physician between December 1998 and April 2003 because of suspected shunt obstruction.

Results: A total of 69 patients were evaluated for suspected shunt obstruction in the ED during this period with both a CT and a CSF shuntogram.