Anudeep Yekula1, Aditya Mittal2, Varun Sagi3 and Mihir Gupta4*
1Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United
States of America
2School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
3School of Medicine, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, United
States of America
4Department of Neurosurgery, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United
States of America
*Corresponding Author: Mihir Gupta, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States of America.
Received: May 28, 2020; Published: June 30, 2020
External ventricular drains (EVDs or ventriculostomies) are frequently required for acute management of intracranial hypertension and monitoring intracranial pressure. Patients with ventriculostomies are frequently co-managed by multiple specialists including neurologists, neuro-intensivists, trauma specialists, emergency department physicians and neurosurgeons. We provide background on the indications, placement technique, troubleshooting and complications related to this procedure. We also discuss emerging best practices for preventing complications such as ventriculostomy-related infection. We conclude with considerations regarding ventriculostomy removal and areas of ongoing study. This review serves as a primer that may facilitate collaborative care between diverse allied providers.
Keywords: External Ventricular Drain; EVD; Ventriculostomy; Kocher’s Point; Hydrocephalus; Cerebrospinal Fluid; Neurocritical Care; Intracranial Pressure; Ventriculitis; Intracranial Hemorrhage
Citation: Mihir Gupta., et al. “External Ventricular Drains: An Overview of Indications, Technique, and Complications".Acta Scientific Neurology 3.7 (2020): 16-22.
Copyright: © 2020 Mihir Gupta., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.