Characteristics of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) among children with ventriculoperitoneal shunt infections

A common (5%) complication of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt systems is infection. CSF cytochemical findings have been used to choose the initial empirical antimicrobial treatment. The objective was to evaluate the results of cytochemical and microbiological analyses of CSF samples obtained from children with pyogenic ventriculitis associated to ventriculoperitoneal shunt systems. This was a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study. Thirty-two cases of pyogenic ventriculitis were included; Gram-positive bacteria were predominant in 26 cases (81.25%); the rest corresponded to Gram-negative bacteria. There were no statistically significant differences for the studied outcome variables (CSF cellularity, glucose and protein levels).

Gram-positive bacteria were widely predominant as a cause of pyogenic ventriculitis associated to the surgical procedure. CSF characteristics show a high heterogeneity and were not associated to the type of microorganism in this studied sample.