cant post a reply again Slowone...so here is your answer

[Dplear]

I got you e mail Steph. I will write back to you later today..I am at work right now...

Tracy,

And yes, they reason most shunts fail within a few weeks of insertion are high protiens....if it is greater than 200 they generally clot off. There are 3 basic types of shunts...low pressure which is the most common and then high pressure which can tolerate higher protiens. The neweer programmable ones can be adjusted (not sure exactly how) and they have higher tolerances for high protien levels. we regularly tap the fonts of kids before shunts to check for protien and if the kid is older we do it by LP. we have seen protiens reguklaly in 12-1400+ range and they end up with EVD's for weeks before they are internalized:)