A Seven-year Study on the Effects of Intravenous Antibiotic Therapy on Infection of Ventriculoperitoneal Shunts in Children

Background: Infection is one of the most common complications of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts. Its optimal management is controversial. We aimed to report current practice within a large pediatric neurosurgical center. Methods: We retrospectively studied a cohort of children <15 years with VP shunt infection, who underwent treatment from March 2011 to March 2018 in the main referral children hospital in Isfahan, Iran. Patients with distal shunt infection or associated wound infection were not included. The initial protocol was empiric intravenous antibiotic therapy and repeated evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis and culture. After obtaining the culture results, antibiotic regimen was adjusted according to the sensitivity results. Response to protocol was defined as negative culture results after 72 hours of appropriate antibiotic, which persisted at least for 1 month after discontinuation of therapy. In patients who failed to respond to protocol, the shunts were replaced. Results: Totally, 148 cases with mean (SD) age of 21.2 (30.1) months included to the study. Of which, 56.1% were boys and 68.2% had responded to the protocol. This response was significantly prominent in patients who infected with Gram-negative bacteria (82.9%), especially withAcinetobacterspp. (100%) andPseudomonas aeruginosa(100%). The response was significantly higher in patients with CSF glucose of greater than 40 mg/dl (83% versus 58.1%, respectively,P= 0.004). Conclusion: We found that using only intravenous antibiotics is sufficiently enough for treating many children with VP shunt infections, especially in those infected by Gram-negative organisms and CSF glucose level of greater than 40 mg/dl.