scholarly journals Ventriculo-Peritoneal Shunt Infections in a Tertiary Center, 3 Years Experience

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emre Dinçer ◽  
Nazan Dalgıç Karabulut

INTRODUCTION: Ventriculo-peritoneal shunt infection is the most important complication of shunt applications. In pediatric age, shunt infections are associated with shunt dysfunction, requirement for shunt revision, neurodevelopmental delay, prolonged hospital stay, and high treatment costs. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the characteristics of shunt infections of our patients and to compare the differences between early and late infections, infections caused by staphylococci and other strains and infection that did and did not recur. METHODS: In this retrospective study, shunt infections treated in the Pediatric Infection Clinic of Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital between July 2008 and July 2011 were evaluated. RESULTS: Forty-seven shunt infections in 42 patients were evaluated. Congenital anomalies were the most common etiology of hydrocephalus and fever was the most common symptom of the patients. Higher rates of early shunt infections, shunt infections in early childhood and infections caused by staphylococci species were observed. Patients with infections caused by staphylococci species received shorter duration of antibiotherapy (p=0.024). Infections that recurred in the six months of follow-up had higher rates of positive blood cultures (p=0.022). There was no statistically significant difference between early and late-term shunt infections. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Shunt infections were evaluated in different aspects in our study. Direct colonization of the shunt catheter still seems to be most important cause for the shunt infections because early infections and infections caused by skin flora were more common in our patient group.

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 544-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Drake ◽  
Jay Riva-Cambrin ◽  
Andrew Jea ◽  
Kurtis Auguste ◽  
Mandeep Tamber ◽  
...  

Object Complications of specific pediatric neurosurgical procedures are well recognized. However, focused surveillance on a specific neurosurgical unit, for all procedures, may lead to better understanding of the most important complications, and allow targeted strategies for quality improvement. Methods The authors prospectively recorded the morbidity and mortality events at a large pediatric neurosurgical unit over a 2-year period. Morbidity was defined as any significant adverse outcome or death (for obstructive shunt failure, within 30 days). Multiple and unrelated complications in the same patient were recorded as separate events. Results There were 1082 surgical procedures performed during the evaluation period. One hundred seventy-seven complications (16.4%) occurred in 147 patients. By procedure, the most common complications occurred in vascular surgery (41.7%) and brain tumor surgery (27.9%). The most common complications were CSF leakage (31 cases), a new neurological deficit (27 cases), early shunt or endoscopic third ventriculostomy obstruction (27 cases), and shunt infection (24 cases). Meningitis occurred in 19 cases: in 58% of shunt infections, 13% of CSF leaks, and 10% of wound infections. Sixty-four percent of adverse events required a second procedure, most commonly an external ventricular drain placement or shunt revision. Conclusions Complications in pediatric neurosurgical procedures are common, result in significant morbidity, and more than half the time require a repeat surgical procedure. Targeted strategies to prevent common complications, such as shunt infections or CSF leaks, might significantly reduce this burden.


2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (3) ◽  
pp. 755-759
Author(s):  
Yuma Okamura ◽  
Keisuke Maruyama ◽  
Shin Fukuda ◽  
Hiroshi Horikawa ◽  
Nobuyoshi Sasaki ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEWhile cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt surgery plays an essential role in the treatment of hydrocephalus, postoperative infection due to the implantation of foreign materials is still one of the most common and potentially serious complications of this procedure. Because no previously reported protocol has been proven to prevent postoperative infection after CSF shunt surgeries in adults, the authors investigated the effectiveness of a protocol introduced in their institution.METHODSA detailed standardized surgical protocol to prevent infection in patients undergoing CSF shunt surgeries was introduced in the authors’ institution in December 2011. The protocol included a series of detailed rules regarding the surgical procedure, the surgical environment to minimize contamination from air, double gloving, local injection of antibiotics, and postoperative management. The rate of CSF shunt infection during the 3 years after surgery before and after implementation of the protocol was compared in patients undergoing their first CSF shunt surgeries. The inclusion periods were from January 2006 to November 2011 for the preprotocol group and from December 2011 to December 2014 for the postprotocol group.RESULTSThe study included 124 preprotocol patients and 52 postprotocol patients. The mean patient age was 59 years in both groups, ranging from 40 days to 88 years. Comparison of patient background factors, including known risk factors for surgical site infections, showed no significant difference between the patient groups before and after implementation of the protocol. While 9 patients (7.3%) developed shunt infections before protocol implementation, no shunt infections (0%) were observed in patients who underwent surgery after protocol implementation. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.047).CONCLUSIONSThe authors’ detailed protocol for CSF shunt surgeries was effective in preventing postoperative infection regardless of patient age.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-42
Author(s):  
Subash Lohani ◽  
Aashish Baniya

Ventriculo-Peritoneal shunt is significantly associated with complications like malfunction and infection. In this study, we aim to review our infection and malfunction rate. This is a retrospective review of charts of patients who underwent ventriculo-peritonealshunt at Upendra Devkota Memorial National Institute of Neurological and Allied Sciences, Bansbari, Nepal between 2008 and 2018. Patients were interviewed via telephone for information regarding shunt complications in the form of malfunction, infection, and the need for revision. A total of 357 patients underwent ventriculoperitonealshunt over a period of 10 years.   of patients was 37.08 years. There were224 males and133 females with M:F::1.7:1.265 patients were available over telephone for interview. 54 of 265 (20.37%) patients needed shunt revision. 32 (12.07%) of them had shunt malfunction. 21 (7.92%) of them had shunt infection. One (0.37%) patient had problems with over drainage. Shunt complications were proportionate in pediatric population as well. Shunt complication at Upendra Devkota Memorial National Institute of Neurological and Allied Sciences is comparable to international data.


Author(s):  
Alka Shantiprakash Gupta ◽  
Arthika Shetty

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) are second most common cause of mortality in surgical patient, situation has been further complicated by emergence of drug resistant strains. The importance of preventing surgical site infections is well recognized since they lead to increased morbidity, prolonged hospital stays, need for readmission, high end antibiotic treatment and re-surgery. The study was done to see if   incidence of SSI is decreased with decreased pre-operative admission time. Others factors associated with SSI were analysed including the microbiological spectrum.Methods: The study was an analytical, observational, case control study. Sixty (60) cases each of gynaecology and obstetrical post-operative patients who developed SSI within 30 days were taken as cases and who did not develop SSI were taken as controls and preoperative admission time was analysed in both cases and controls to observe if risk of surgical site infections decreases due to decreased exposure to nosocomial pathogens when the pre-operative admission time was less than 48 hours.Results: Author found that there was statistically significant difference in the time between surgery and admission in the gynaecological surgeries with p value 0.023, as compared to the obstetrics surgeries where there was no statistically significant difference. Common organism isolated was E. coli sensitive to gentamicin.Conclusions: From this study, it seems to be a good policy to evaluate the patient on OPD basis and admit them about 24 to 48 hours prior to the surgery rather them keeping them admitted for prolonged duration in wards for diagnostic evaluation. This prevents nosocomial contamination in the patient’s skin flora thereby preventing SSI. This practice not only conserves the hospital resources but also makes the patient turn over faster. Further this might in the long run reduce the antibiotic resistant hospital flora.


2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atman Desai ◽  
Stuart Scott Lollis ◽  
Symeon Missios ◽  
Tarek Radwan ◽  
Deborah E. Zuaro ◽  
...  

Object Infections of CSF hardware may be indolent, and some patients have received antibiotic treatment for various reasons before CSF is obtained to check for a shunt infection. At present, there are few data in the literature to guide the decision as to how long to hold CSF specimens when attempting to diagnose hardware infections, and institutions vary in the duration at which cultures are considered “final.” Methods The authors reviewed the microbiology data from CSF specimens obtained from shunts, ventriculostomies, reservoirs, and lumbar drains at their institution over a 36-month period to discover how long after collection cultures became positive. The authors also sought to discover whether this time was affected by prior treatment with antibiotics. Results Of 158 positive CSF specimens obtained from hardware, the time to recovery ranged between 1–10 days, with a mean of 3.02 days (SD 2.37 days, 95% CI 2.66–3.38 days). One hundred and twenty-seven positive specimens were associated with clinical infections, and ~ 25% of these grew organisms after > 3 days, with some as long as 10 days after specimens were obtained. The most common organisms grown from individual patients were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp (34 cultures), Propionibacterium spp (21), Bacillus spp (6), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4), and Staphylococcus aureus (4 cultures). Mean and maximum days to recovery were different across species, with S. aureus showing the shortest and Propionibacterium spp showing the longest incubation times. There appeared to be no significant difference in the time to recovery between specimens obtained in patients who had received prior antibiotic treatment versus those who had not. Conclusions A substantial number of positive CSF specimens obtained in patients with clinical infections grew bacteria after > 3 days, with some requiring as long as 10 days. Thus, a routine 10-day observation period for CSF specimens can be justified.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Sweid ◽  
Badih J Daou ◽  
Joshua H Weinberg ◽  
Robert M Starke ◽  
Robert C Sergott ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND CSF shunting is among the most widely utilized interventions in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). Ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS) and lumboperitoneal shunting (LPS) are 2 possible treatment modalities. OBJECTIVE To evaluate and compare complications, malfunction, infection, and revision rates associated with VPS compared to LPS. METHODS Electronic medical records were reviewed to identify baseline and treatment characteristics for patients diagnosed with IIH treated with VPS or LPS. RESULTS A total of 163 patients treated with either VPS (74.2%) or LPS (25.8%) were identified. The mean follow-up was 35 mo. Shunt revision was required in 40.9% of patients. There was a nonsignificant higher rate of revision with LPS (52.4%) than VPS (36.4%, P = .07). In multivariate analysis, increasing patient age was associated with higher odds of shunt revision (P = .04). LPS had higher odds of shunt revision, yet this association was not significant (P = .06). Shunt malfunction was the main indication for revision occurring in 32.7%, with a significantly higher rate with LPS than VPS (P = .03). In total, 15 patients had shunt infection (9.4% VPS vs 12.2% LPS P = .50). The only significant predictor of procedural infection was the increasing number of revisions (P = .02). CONCLUSION The incidence of shunt revision was 40.9%, with increasing patient age as the sole predictor of shunt revision. The incidence of shunt malfunction was significantly higher in patients undergoing LPS, while there was no significant difference in the incidence of shunt infection between the 2 modalities.


2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 569-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atiq-ur Rehman ◽  
Tausif-ur Rehman ◽  
Hassaan H. Bashir ◽  
Vikas Gupta

Object Postoperative shunt infection is the most common and feared complication of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt placement for treatment of hydrocephalus. The rate of shunt infection is highest in the 1st postoperative month. The most common organisms responsible for shunt infection include coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Staphylococcus aureus. This suggests a transfer of patient's skin flora via the surgeons' glove as a possible means of infection. The authors conducted a study to determine if the rate of postoperative shunt infections could be reduced simply by changing gloves before handling the shunt catheter. Methods A total of 111 neonates born with congenital hydrocephalus requiring a VP shunt were enrolled retrospectively and divided into 2 groups: a control group of 54 neonates treated with standard protocol VP shunt placement (Group A) and a treatment group of 57 neonates in whom, after initially double gloving, the outer pair of gloves was removed before handling the shunt catheter (Group B). Shunt infection rates were compared up to 6 months postoperatively. Results There was a statistically significant reduction of infection rate from 16.33% in Group A (control) to 3.77% in Group B (p = 0.0458). Conclusions The study shows that a changing of gloves before handling the shunt catheter may be a simple and cost-effective way to reduce the burden of postoperative shunt infections.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Bilal Ertuğrul ◽  
Metin Kaplan ◽  
Ömer Batu Hergünsel ◽  
Bekir Akgün ◽  
Sait Öztürk ◽  
...  

<b><i>Purpose:</i></b> Hydrocephalus is a common comorbidity among the newborns, with myelomeningocele (MMC) and ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts being frequently used for the treatment of such patients. In this study, we aimed to compare the effectiveness of antibiotic-free and antibiotic-coated shunts to reduce the rate of shunt infection in patients with hydrocephalus and accompanying MMC. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> 116 patients with hydrocephalus and MMC who were treated with VP shunts were included in the study. Shunt infection rates among antibiotic-free and antibiotic-coated shunts were compared. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of the 116 patients included in the study, 39 had antibiotic-coated shunts and 77 had antibiotic-free shunts. Shunt infection developed in 4 of the 39 cases treated with antibiotic-coated shunts and in 5 of the 77 cases treated with shunts without antibiotics. No significant statistical difference was found between antibiotic-coated and antibiotic-free VP shunts in terms of shunt infection (<i>p</i> = 0.450, <i>p</i> &#x3e; 0.05). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> In patients with MMC, using VP shunts containing antibiotics was found not to have a protective effect in preventing shunt infection. Whether the sac is intact or ruptured does not affect this result.


Author(s):  
Warren Clements ◽  
Yasmin Shvarts ◽  
Jim Koukounaras ◽  
Tuan D. Phan ◽  
Gerard S. Goh ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Long-term percutaneous enteral nutrition forms an important part of treatment for patients with an inability to meet nutrient requirements orally. Radiologically inserted gastrostomy (RIG) is an alternative to the traditionally performed percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy technique. However, there is marked heterogeneity in the way that RIG is performed. In addition, the role for antibiotic prophylaxis during RIG insertion is not clearly established. This study aimed to assess the safety of RIG insertion using our technique including the role of antibiotics in RIG insertion. Method Retrospective study over 5 years at a tertiary teaching hospital. Periprocedural or early complications within the first 2 weeks of the procedure were collected and correlated with the use of prophylactic antibiotics. Results A total of 116 patients met the inclusion criteria. 18-French tube was used in 96.6%. Note that 58.6% of procedures were done with intravenous sedation. Prophylactic 1 g cefazolin was used in 70 patients with 1 case of infection. Procedures were performed without antibiotics in 46 patients with 3 infections, p = 0.20.There were two major complications (1.7%) consisting of right gastric artery injury requiring embolization and gastric wall injury requiring laparotomy. There were 12 minor complications (10.3%) including 4 cases of infection, 3 of severe pain, 1 of minor bleeding, 2 of early dislodgement, and 2 of leak/bypass of gastric contents around the tube. Conclusion The technique used for RIG insertion at our institution results in a low complication rate. In addition, this study shows no significant difference in early peristomal infection rate with the use of antibiotic prophylaxis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 107602962110089
Author(s):  
Luis O. Bobadilla-Rosado ◽  
Santiago Mier y Teran-Ellis ◽  
Gabriel Lopez-Pena ◽  
Javier E. Anaya-Ayala ◽  
Carlos A. Hinojosa

Coagulation abnormalities have been reported in COVID-19 patients, which may lead to an increased risk of Pulmonary Embolism (PE). We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients diagnosed with PE during their hospital stay. We analyzed patients with PE and COVID-19 in a tertiary center in Mexico City from April to October of 2020. A total of 26 (100%) patients were diagnosed with Pulmonary Embolism and COVID-19. We observed that 14 (54%) patients were receiving either prophylactic or full anticoagulation therapy, before PE diagnosis. We found a significant difference in mortality between the group with less than 7 days (83%) and the group with more than 7 days (15%) in Intensive Care Unit ( P = .004); as well as a mean of 8 days for the mortality group compared with 20 days of hospitalization in the survivor group ( P = .003). In conclusion, there is an urgent need to review antithrombotic therapy in these patients in order to improve clinical outcomes and decrease hospital overload.


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