A 2-year-old hydrocephalic boy who had suffered multiple shunt failures was evaluated for hypercoagulability after a thrombus was removed from his right atrium. The work-up revealed that the patient had the heterozygous form of activated protein C resistance and false type 2 protein C deficiency by the clotting method. His protein C activity was normal by the chromogenic method. We suggest that patients having hydrocephalus, shunt-associated thrombus formation, or both should be evaluated for thrombophilic disorders, and protein C activity should be measured by chromogenic assay in patients with documented activated protein C resistance. (J Child Neurol 2001; 16:862-863).
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