A case of repeated shunt malfunctions with eosinophilic meningitis caused by silicone allergy

Abstract

The ventricular-peritoneal shunt for hydrocephalus is a well-known and established method but is sometimes complicated by shunt malfunction due to several causes. Eosinophilic meningitis is a rare disease, but has occasionally been reported as a cause of shunt malfunction. Here, we report the case of a 74-year-old woman with repeated shunt malfunction and eosinophilic meningitis due to a silicone allergy. Originally, the patient received a ventricular-peritoneal shunt for normal pressure hydrocephalus secondary to subarachnoid hemorrhage. However, shunt malfunction was identified 6 weeks later, and the first shunt revision was performed using a new shunt system from a different company. Further evaluation to identify the cause of the shunt malfunction revealed no abnormal findings, except for eosinophilia in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid. A second shunt malfunction was identified 16 weeks after the first shunt revision. We therefore concluded that eosinophilic meningitis caused by a silicone allergy might be the real culprit and a second shunt revision was performed using a silicone "extracted" tube. Since then, the patient's course has been free from shunt malfunction. In this case, the serum and cerebrospinal fluid eosinophilia were useful markers for identifying the cause of repeated shunt malfunctions. The silicone "extracted" tube may be helpful for diagnosis and therapy.