Neurosurgical Infections

Patients in the neurointensive care unit often undergo life-saving neurosurgical interventions that can be associated with serious complications. Infection is a common and sometimes fatal complication of such procedures. Infection may occur not only in the setting of major cranial and spinal surgery, but also with common minor procedures that utilize neurosurgical devices, such as placement of external ventricular drains, ventriculoperitoneal shunts, and deep brain stimulators. In this article, we review the epidemiology and microbiology of these infections, and discuss their general and procedure-specific risk factors and treatment options.