Reuse of ventricular drain sites for cerebrospinal fluid shunting in patients with no prior infection

Abstract

Object The safety of reusing ventricular drain sites for shunting CSF in patients with no history of infection involving either the ventricular drain or the CSF was the focus of this investigation. Methods Prospectively accrued clinical data on all patients who, in an 8-year span ending in June 2008, underwent external ventricular drain placement and subsequently required CSF shunts were retrospectively evaluated for evidence of shunt infection and other complications. Results The infection rate for 50 consecutive operations in 50 patients who met the inclusion criteria was 2.0%. Conclusions Data from this study support the position that the reuse of ventriculostomy tracts when implanting first-time CSF shunts is, with regard to the risk of infection, a safe practice and avoids all risks associated with making a new ventricular entry.