For added convenience, Ares Antibiotic Impregnated Catheters have the same diameters as our standard catheters. This enables seamless connection to all Strata®, Delta®, and PS Medical® shunt valves, so you don’t have to mix different shunt brands to get the best of both worlds.
Functional and Convenient
Impregnated with two antibiotics: rifampicin and clindamycin Shown to reduce colonization of gram-positive bacteria on all catheter surfaces Small quantity of antibiotics (less than a pediatric daily dose) results in low risk of toxicity Very low risk of resistance mutation due to dual antibiotics that are hard to resist simultaneously1,10 Numerical length marks clearly show depth of penetration during ventricular catheter placement Features same-sized tubing as Medtronic’s standard non-antibiotic-impregnated catheters to resist kinking and compression Designed to fit all Medtronic shunt valves Barium impregnation allows for visualization of the catheter on x-ray Non-ferrous design won’t interfere with CT scans or MRI Ventricular catheters include a stainless steel stylet and patented right-angle clip that provides a non-kinking bend in the catheter at the burr hole site References
Attenello FJ, Garces-Ambrossi GL, Zaidi HA, Sciubba DM, Jallo GI. Hospital costs associated with shunt infections in patients receiving antibiotic-impregnated shunt catheters versus standard shunt catheters. Neurosurgery 2010; 66:284-289. Patwardhan RV, Nanda A. Implanted ventricular shunts in the United States: the billion-dollar-a-year cost of hydrocephalus treatment. Neurosurgery 2005; 56:139-145. Darouiche RO. Treatment of infections associated with surgical implants. N Engl J Med 2004; 350(14):1422-1429. Browd SR, Ragel BT , Gottfried ON, Kestle JR. Failure of cerebrospinal fluid shunts: part I: Obstruction and mechanical failure. Pediatr Neurol 2006 February;34(2):83-92. Ratilal B, Costa J, Sampaio C. Antibiotic prophylaxis for surgical introduction of intracranial ventricular shunts: a systematic review. J Neurosurg Pediatrics 1:48-56, 2008. Kohnen W, Kolbenschlag C, Teske-Keiser S, Jansen B. Development of a long-lasting ventricular catheter impregnated with a combination of antibiotics. Biomaterials 2003 November;24(26):4865-9.