What is intrathecal chemotherapy?
Listen to pronunciation. (IN-truh-THEE-kul KEE-moh-THAYR-uh-pee) Treatment in which anticancer drugs are injected into the fluid-filled space between the thin layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord.
When is intrathecal chemo used?
Intrathecal (IT) chemotherapy is used to treat cancers that have entered into the CSF. When a cancer has gotten into the CSF, it may be called CNS (central nervous system) involvement.
What does intrathecal chemotherapy prevent?
Your doctor may recommend intrathecal chemotherapy for two main reasons: to target cancer cells in the space around the brain and spinal cord. to prevent cancer from reaching the CSF from other areas of your body.
How is intrathecal chemotherapy performed?
How Is IT Chemo Given? One way to get this treatment is with a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap. This is the same method used to get a sample of your fluid to test for cancer cells. Your doctor will use a needle and syringe to deliver the medicine into your CSF between two vertebrae in your spine.
What is intrathecal medication?
Intrathecal drug delivery, also known as the “pain pump,” uses a small pump to deliver pain medication directly to your spinal cord. The pump is surgically placed under the abdominal skin and delivers pain medication through a catheter to the area around your spinal cord.
Where is intrathecal chemotherapy given?
Intrathecal chemotherapy is when chemotherapy is given into the fluid around the spinal cord during a lumbar puncture. A doctor or specially trained nurse will do the lumbar puncture. Your doctor or nurse will usually give you a local anaesthetic first.
Where is the intrathecal space?
Also known as the subarachnoid space, the intrathecal space is the fluid-filled area located between the innermost layer of covering (the pia mater) of the spinal cord and the middle layer of covering (the arachnoid mater).
Is intrathecal the same as spinal?
Intrathecal administration is delivered directly into the CSF and into the superifical spinal cord; epidural administration diffuses through the dura into the CSF, and thus has a slower onset of action.
What drugs can be given intrathecal?
Currently there are only three medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use via the intrathecal route, ie, morphine, ziconotide, and baclofen. Morphine targets opioid receptors within the dorsal horn.
What mean intrathecal?
Definition of intrathecal : introduced into or occurring in the space under the arachnoid membrane of the brain or spinal cord intrathecal drugs.
What is an intrathecal catheter?
The placement of an intrathecal catheter is a minimally invasive procedure aimed at releasing drugs directly into the subarachnoid space for the control of pain in cancer and non-cancer conditions, and for managing severe spasticity in adults and children.
What is the root word of intrathecal?
English word intrathecal comes from English thecal (Of or pertaining to a theca.. Possessing a theca.), English intra- (A prefix signifying inside, within, interior, during.)