Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis: A Retrospective Analysis

Background and objective Healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis (HAVM) is frequent in neurocritical patients and associated with significant mortality. Surgery and intracranial devices are usually necessary and may lead to infection. Classical clinical signs and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) analysis may be unreliable. The purpose of this study was to characterize the prevalence of HAVM, risk factors, and interventions in the neurocritical population admitted in the ICU. Methods This was a retrospective single-center analysis of all adult neurocritical patients admitted to an ICU during a three-year period. Results A total of 218 neurocritical patients were included. The prevalence of HAVM was 13% and it was found to be associated with mortality. When suspected, it was not possible to exclude HAVM in 30% of the patients. HAVM was significantly associated with surgery, surgical reintervention, and brain devices. Sustained fever was the most frequent clinical sign, and it was significantly associated with unexcluded HAVM. CSF cell count was significantly higher in HAVM, though without microbiological isolation in most of the cases. Conclusion Brain damage, interventions, and devices may significantly alter cerebral homeostasis. Sustained fever is very frequent and may be attributed to several conditions. CSF cell count is useful for the diagnosis of HAVM. HAVM is a clinical challenge in the management of neurocritical patients with important therapeutic and prognostic implications.