CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID SHUNT INFECTIONS IN INFANTS

Infection remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality following C SF shunt procedures. In this study 198 shunt procedures carried out fr om January 1981 to December 1992 in a series of 81 infants (less than 6 months old) were retrospectively analyzed for possible risk factors; The overall surgical infection rate was 7.8%, with 15 infections occu rring in 14 patients (17.2%). No significant difference in the sate of infections was found in relation to sex, birth weight, gestational ag e, and type of shunt procedure (primary insertion/revision). The occur rence of other infections during the period of shunt surgery did not i nfluence the infection risk either. Intraventricular hemorrhage and ce ntral nervous system infections as causes of the hydrocephalus were fo und to correlate with septic risk. Young age (less than 6 months) seem s to represent the main risk factor, and this is related both to the i mmunologic deficiency and to the particular features of residential ba cterial flora in this age group.