[Non-surgical management of an infected ventriculo-atrial shunt]

We report on a 81-year old patient who showed clinical signs of a shunt infection eight months after implantation of a ventriculo-atrial shunt system Heyer-Schulte. The reason was identified to be a massive infection with staphylococcus albus. Elimination of the infection was achieved by intravenous administration of fosfomycine and local instillation of gentamycin into the valve. The follow-up was uneventful for more than two years until the death of the patient in January 1987.