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Updated: May 27, 2025
Neuronavigation and Laparoscopy Guided Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Insertion for the Treatment of Hydrocephalus
Published on: October 14, 2022
Infective Endocarditis as a Complication of a Ventriculoatrial Shunt
Siddhant Passey1, Jasmine Tidwell1, Lara Melo Soares Pinho De Carvalho1
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.
Abstract:
A 31-year-old man with a medical history of congenital hydrocephalus with a ventriculoatrial shunt presented with sepsis despite being treated with oxacillin for a recent bacteremia. His blood cultures grew methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, and a transesophageal echocardiogram revealed small vegetations on the tricuspid valve and at the tip of the ventriculoatrial shunt. He underwent removal of the shunt and was treated with a 6-week course of oxacillin and rifampin for endocarditis. Our case highlights the importance of having a high index of suspicion for endocarditis in patients with a ventriculoatrial shunt. Similar to the management of other cardiac device-related infective endocarditis, removal of the shunt is required in addition to antibiotic therapy.
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