Shunt infection and malfunction in patients with myelomeningocele

OBJECTIVEMyelomeningocele (MMC) is frequently complicated by symptomatic hydrocephalus, necessitating early permanent CSF diversion and revision surgeries. Shunt infections are a common cause of shunt malfunction. This study aims to characterize long-term shunt-related outcomes of patients undergoing MMC closure.METHODSA total of 170 patients undergoing MMC closure between the years of 1995 and 2017 were identified from a retrospective review of a prospectively populated surgical database at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Patients who underwent MMC closure and required ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt insertion met criteria and were included in the primary study analysis. Analysis with a Fisher exact test was performed for categorical variables, and Mann-Whitney U-tests were utilized for numerical data.RESULTSOf the 158 total patients undergoing MMC closure and meeting inclusion criteria, 137 (87%) required VP shunt insertion. These 137 patients demonstrated a shunt revision rate of 21.1% per person-year and a shunt infection rate of 2.1% per person-year over a mean follow-up of 10.8 years. Patients had a mean of 3.4 ± 0.6 shunt surgeries prior to their first infection. Patients undergoing immediate shunt removal, external ventricular drain placement, or shunt replacement after clearing the infection had lower rates of subsequent infections than patients who initially were managed with shunt externalization (p < 0.001). Placement of a shunt at the time of MMC closure was not found to be a risk factor for infection. Of patients with initial shunt placement after the implementation of the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network protocol in 2011, the authors’ institution has had a shunt infection rate of 4.2% per person-year and a revision rate of 35.7% per person-year.CONCLUSIONSThis study describes long-term outcomes of shunted MMC patients and factors associated with shunt infections. Most patients underwent multiple revisions prior to the first shunt infection. Shunt externalization may be ineffective at clearing the infection and should be avoided in favor of early shunt removal and external ventricular drainage, followed by shunt replacement once infection is demonstrated to have cleared.

Gastrostomy tube placement increases the risk of ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection: a multiinstitutional study

OBJECTIVEGastrostomy tube placement can temporarily seed the peritoneal cavity with bacteria and thus theoretically increases the risk of shunt infection when the two procedures are performed contemporaneously. The authors hypothesized that gastrostomy tube placement would not increase the risk of ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection. The object of this study was to test this hypothesis by utilizing a large patient cohort combined from multiple institutions.METHODSA retrospective study of all adult patients admitted to five institutions with a diagnosis of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage between January 2005 and January 2015 was performed. The primary outcome of interest was ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection. Variables, including gastrostomy tube placement, were tested for their association with this outcome. Standard statistical methods were utilized.RESULTSThe overall cohort consisted of 432 patients, 47% of whom had undergone placement of a gastrostomy tube. The overall shunt infection rate was 9%. The only variable that predicted shunt infection was gastrostomy tube placement (p = 0.03, OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.07–4.08), which remained significant in the multivariate analysis (p = 0.04, OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.04–3.97). The greatest proportion of shunts that became infected had been placed more than 2 weeks (25%) and 1–2 weeks (18%) prior to gastrostomy tube placement, but the temporal relationship between shunt and gastrostomy was not a significant predictor of shunt infection.CONCLUSIONSGastrostomy tube placement significantly increases the risk of ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection.

External Ventricular Drainage Infections: Experience From a Tertiary Care Center in Nepal

External Ventricular Drainage (EVD) related infection is one of the most dreaded infections in neurosurgical practice. The primary aim of this study was to assess the incidence of EVD infections in our hospital. In addition, we have made an attempt to evaluate the indication for EVD placement, influence of total drainage time in the risk of catheter infection, the most common bacterial spectra in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture, and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern. This is a retrospective study of all patients who underwent EVD placement over a period of two years.Out of 60 patients who underwent EVD placement, 52 met the inclusion criteria for analysis. The ventricular catheters were in place from 1 to 23 days. Overall shunt infection rate was 36.5%. CSF cell count significantly correlated with the occurrence of a positive CSF culture (unpaired t test, p<0.05). The most common bacterial species isolated were Acinetobacter baumannii and Burkholderia cepacia.Despite many advances in care, there is still a significantly high incidence of EVD related infections. Contrary to earlier reports, the most common bacterial grown in our center were quite different and their antibiotic sensitivity varied accordingly.Nepal Journal of Neuroscience 12:67-71, 2015

A Multicenter Multinational Registry for Assessing Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Infections for Hydrocephalus

BACKGROUND: Reported infection rates after ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery vary from 1 to 25%. Antibiotic-impregnated (AI) catheters may reduce shunt infection rates, but this is uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To establish a prospective shunt registry to evaluate short-term (3-month) infection rates associated with ventriculoperitoneal shunts and standard or AI catheters during surgical treatment of hydrocephalus. METHODS: A prospective, multicenter, noncontrolled, open-label registry investigated patients with de novo catheter implantation or catheter replacement of an existing ventriculoperitoneal shunt. The primary outcome was shunt infection. RESULTS: A total of 440 patients were entered into the registry at 10 sites: 3 in North America, 2 in Singapore, 4 in China and 1 in India. Seven patients were excluded. Of the 433 remaining patients, 314 had new shunts and 119 were revisions. Shunt infections occurred in 14 of 433 patients (3.2%) overall and in 2 of 37 infants (5.2%) younger than 1 year. AI catheters were used in 46 of 433 patients at 7 centers. The shunt infection rate was 0 of 46 for shunts with AI catheters and 14 of 387 (3.6%) without AI catheters. Infection rates were similar with AI catheters, adjusting for age and catheter type. CONCLUSION: The overall shunt infection rate was lower than in previous multicentered studies. The low infection rate and low rate of AI catheter use precludes any meaningful statement regarding the value of AI catheters in reducing the infection rate. Consideration should be given to performing a well designed, adequately powered, prospective randomized controlled trial to determine whether AI catheters reduce shunt infection rates.

Efficacy of intraoperative irrigation with saline for preventing shunt infection

Object The rate of infection following shunt procedures is unacceptably high. The authors have hypothesized that the key to reducing the shunt infection rate is in reducing bacteria in the operating field and wound. This hypothesis has been tested in a prospective nonrandomized controlled manner. Methods Data obtained in all patients undergoing shunt insertions or revisions for hydrocephalus performed between October 1, 2003, and June 12, 2009, were reviewed. Starting in August 2006, we began routinely irrigating the operating field and wound with saline solution from a syringe. Prior to this, we had not used any irrigation techniques, providing an adequate control group (Group A) for the effect of the irrigation technique. Prior to November 2007, we used saline containing amikacin for irrigation (Group B). After that date, we used saline only for irrigation (Group C). Results A total of 150 shunt procedures were performed in 79 girls and 71 boys during the study period. The mean age of all patients was 44.0 ± 59.1 months. Groups A, B, and C comprised 61, 40, and 49 shunt procedures, respectively. There was no statistical difference in age among the 3 groups. Nine infections occurred within 90 days in the postoperative period. The overall infection rate was 6.0%. Eight infections occurred before introducing the irrigation procedure (infection rate 13.1%). One infection was noted after introducing irrigation (Group B [0.0%] + Group C [2.0%]; combined B and C infection rate = 1.1%). There was a statistical difference in the infection rate between Group A and Groups B and C combined (p = 0.003), Groups A and B (p = 0.021), and Groups A and C (p = 0.035). In contrast, no statistical difference was observed between Groups B and C (p > 0.99). Six of the 9 infections were due to staphylococcal species. Conclusions An irrigation technique used to reduce bacteria in the operating field and wound is effective for preventing shunt infection. Irrigation alone, and not antibiotics, contributed to the prophylaxis of shunt infection.