Efficacy and safety of the Miethke programmable differential pressure valve (proGAV®2.0): a single-centre retrospective analysis

Purpose Achieving decompression without CSF over-drainage remains a challenge in hydrocephalus. Differential pressure valves are a popular treatment modality, with evidence suggesting that incorporation of gravitational units helps minimise over-drainage. This study seeks to describe the utility of the proGAV®2.0 programmable valve in a paediatric population. Methods Clinical records and imaging of all patients fitted with proGAV®2.0 valves and Miethke fixed-pressure valves between 2014 and 2019 at our tertiary centre were analysed. Patient demographics, indication for shunt and valve insertion/revision and time to shunt/valve revision were collected. Ventricular linear metrics (fronto-occipital horn ratio (FOHR) and fronto-occipital horn width ratio (FOHWR)) were collected pre- and post-valve insertion. Microsoft Excel and SPSS v24 were used for data collection and statistical analysis. Results Eighty-eight proGAV®2.0 valves were inserted in a population of 77 patients (n = 45 males (58%), mean age 5.1 years (IQR: 0.4–11.0 years)). A total of 102 Miethke fixed-pressure valves were inserted over the same time period. Median follow-up was 17.5 months (1.0–47.3). One (1.1%) proGAV®2.0 was revised due to over-drainage, compared to 2 (1.9%) fixed-pressure valves (p > 0.05). ProGAV®2.0 insertion resulted in a significant decrease in the mean number of revisions per patient per year (1.77 vs 0.25; p = 0.01). Overall shunt system survival with the proGAV®2.0 was 80.4% at 12 months, and mean time to revision was 37.1 months, compared to 31.0 months (95%CI: 25.7–36.3) and 58.3% in fixed-pressure valves (p < 0.01). Significant decreases were seen following proGAV®2.0 insertion in both FOHR and FOHWR, by 0.014 (95%CI: 0.006–0.023, p = 0.002) and 0.037 (95%CI: 0.005–0.069, p = 0.024) respectively. Conclusion The proGAV®2.0 provides effective decompression of hydrocephalic patients, significantly reduces the number of valve revisions per patient and had a significantly greater mean time to revision than fixed-pressure valves.