Ventriculoperitoneal shunt is used to do what?

• A. Drain CSF from brain ventricles into the abdominal cavity
• B. Drain CSF to the subarachnoid space
• C. Drain blood from ventricles
• D. Drain CSF to the pleural cavity

Answer: (A)

Diverting excess CSF away from the brain’s ventricles to another body cavity relieves hydrocephalus by lowering intracranial pressure. A ventriculoperitoneal shunt does exactly this: a catheter sits in a brain ventricle, connected to a valve, with a distal catheter that drains CSF into the abdominal (peritoneal) cavity where the CSF is absorbed. The peritoneum provides a large absorptive surface, making this the standard and most common drainage route.

Draining CSF to the subarachnoid space wouldn’t effectively bypass the blockage or reduce ventricular pressure in many hydrocephalus cases, so it isn’t the typical solution. Draining CSF into the pleural cavity would be a ventriculopleural shunt, a different approach used in specific situations, not the standard ventriculoperitoneal setup. Draining blood from the ventricles isn’t related to CSF management at all.