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Updated: May 9, 2026
Neuronavigation and Laparoscopy Guided Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Insertion for the Treatment of Hydrocephalus
Published on: October 14, 2022
Procalcitonin as an early diagnostic marker for ventriculoperitoneal shunt infections
Ryosuke Tomio1, Takenori Akiyama, Shunsuke Shibao
11 Department of Neurosurgery, Saitama Municipal Hospital , Saitama, Japan .
Background:
Procalcitonin (PCT) has been considered a more reliable marker than others because of its specificity for bacterial infection.
Methods:
Case report and review of the literature.
Results:
A 50-year-old male was diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage, intraventricular hemorrhage, and intracerebral hemorrhage. We performed a ruptured aneurysm clipping and left unilateral external ventricular drainage. We also performed ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt placement in the course; however, VP shunt infection was indicated by fever, increased C-reactive protein concentration and leukocytosis. The cerebrospinal fluid culture showed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis but the serum PCT concentration was quite low.
Conclusions:
Although PCT is considered a more reliable serological marker of bacterial meningitis in several reports, the serum PCT concentration did not reflect the bacterial VP shunt infection that was present in our case.
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