Clinical utility of SPECT/CT radionuclide shuntgraphy in suspected ventriculoperitoneal shunt dysfunction.
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Donghu Road 169, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- 2Brain Research Center, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Donghu Road 169, Wuhan, 430071, China.
- 4Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Donghu Road 169, Wuhan, 430071, China. [email protected].
- 5Brain Research Center, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China. [email protected].
- 6Department of Nuclear Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Donghu Road 169, Wuhan, 430071, China. [email protected].
- 7Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Donghu Road 169, Wuhan, 430071, China. [email protected].
Abstract
Objective
This study aims to develop and validate a more efficient diagnostic system for suspected ventriculoperitoneal shunt dysfunction by integrating traditional radionuclide shuntgraphy with SPECT imaging.Methods
This retrospective study examined patients with suspected shunt malfunction admitted to our neurosurgery department from 2021 to 2024, who underwent SPECT/CT imaging of the ventricular shunt. SPECT/CT results were categorized as three groups based on tracer behavior: normal shunt function, partial obstruction, and shunt obstruction. Baseline data, imaging characteristics and clinical management were recorded. Diagnostic agreement with surgery was analyzed only in patients who underwent revision, the only subgroup with a definitive intraoperative reference standard.Result
A study of 46 SPECT/CT images from 42 patients found 14 normal shunt functions, 23 with partial obstruction, and 9 with complete obstruction. Nineteen patients underwent surgery, and SPECT/CT demonstrated good agreement with intraoperative findings (16/19), corresponding to a sensitivity of 88.9%. Specificity could not be reliably estimated because there were no true-negative surgical cases. Thin-slice CT scans assessing shunt catheter position and morphology revealed abnormalities such as malposition of the ventricular or abdominal catheter, tortuosity in the abdominal segment, and obstruction or rupture of the catheter body. Abnormal shunt tube positioning or morphology was more prevalent in the obstruction group (p = 0.0083).Conclusion
In this heterogeneous clinical population, the SPECT/CT shunt imaging diagnostic system prove0d feasible and clinically informative.
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BibTeX
@article{wei2026clinical,
title = {{Clinical utility of SPECT/CT radionuclide shuntgraphy in suspected ventriculoperitoneal shunt dysfunction.}},
author = {Zixuan Wei and Ziwei Pi and Jibo Zhang and Chengshi Xu and Linglong Jiang and Wenyu Li and Tingbao Zhang and Meijuan Shen and Jincao Chen},
journal = {Acta neurochirurgica},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1007/s00701-026-06998-x},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42901992},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Clinical utility of SPECT/CT radionuclide shuntgraphy in suspected ventriculoperitoneal shunt dysfunction.
AU - Zixuan Wei
AU - Ziwei Pi
AU - Jibo Zhang
AU - Chengshi Xu
AU - Linglong Jiang
AU - Wenyu Li
AU - Tingbao Zhang
AU - Meijuan Shen
AU - Jincao Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/01
JO - Acta neurochirurgica
DO - 10.1007/s00701-026-06998-x
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42901992
AB - Objective This study aims to develop and validate a more efficient diagnostic system for suspected ventriculoperitoneal shunt dysfunction by integrating traditional radionuclide shuntgraphy with SPECT imaging.Methods This retrospective study examined patients with suspected shunt malfunction admitted to our neurosurgery department from 2021 to 2024, who underwent SPECT/CT imaging of the ventricular shunt. SPECT/CT results were categorized as three groups based on tracer behavior: normal shunt function, partial obstruction, and shunt obstruction. Baseline data, imaging characteristics and clinical management were recorded. Diagnostic agreement with surgery was analyzed only in patients who underwent revision, the only subgroup with a definitive intraoperative reference standard.Result A study of 46 SPECT/CT images from 42 patients found 14 normal shunt functions, 23 with partial obstruction, and 9 with complete obstruction. Nineteen patients underwent surgery, and SPECT/CT demonstrated good agreement with intraoperative findings (16/19), corresponding to a sensitivity of 88.9%. Specificity could not be reliably estimated because there were no true-negative surgical cases. Thin-slice CT scans assessing shunt catheter position and morphology revealed abnormalities such as malposition of the ventricular or abdominal catheter, tortuosity in the abdominal segment, and obstruction or rupture of the catheter body. Abnormal shunt tube positioning or morphology was more prevalent in the obstruction group (p = 0.0083).Conclusion In this heterogeneous clinical population, the SPECT/CT shunt imaging diagnostic system prove0d feasible and clinically informative.
SN - 0001-6268
SN - 0942-0940
ER -