Ciw 861

Clinical Infectious Diseases
IDSA GUIDELINE
2017 Infectious Diseases Society of America’s Clinical

Practice Guidelines for Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis
and Meningitis*
Allan R. Tunkel,1 Rodrigo Hasbun,2 Adarsh Bhimraj,3 Karin Byers,4 Sheldon L. Kaplan,5 W. Michael Scheld,6 Diederik van de Beek,7
Thomas P. Bleck,8 Hugh J. L. Garton,9 and Joseph R. Zunt10
1
Department of Internal Medicine—Infectious Diseases, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; 2Department of Infectious Diseases, the University of Texas
Health Science Center at Houston, Texas; 3Department of Infectious Diseases, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio; 4Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pennsylvania;
5
Department of Pediatrics—Section of Infectious Diseases, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; 6Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Virginia, Charlottesville; 7Department of
Neurology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 8Departments of Neurological Sciences, Neurosurgery, Anesthesiology, and Medicine,
Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois; 9Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and 10Departments of Neurology, Global Health, Medicine—Infectious Diseases,
and Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle.
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The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Standards and Practice Guidelines Committee collaborated with partner or-
ganizations to convene a panel of 10 experts on healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis. The panel represented pediatric
and adult specialists in the field of infectious diseases and represented other organizations whose members care for patients with
healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis (American Academy of Neurology, American Association of Neurological Sur-
geons, and Neurocritical Care Society). The panel reviewed articles based on literature reviews, review articles and book chapters,
evaluated the evidence and drafted recommendations. Questions were reviewed and approved by panel members. Subcategories
were included for some questions based on specific populations of patients who may develop healthcare-associated ventriculitis
and meningitis after the following procedures or situations: cerebrospinal fluid shunts, cerebrospinal fluid drains, implantation of
intrathecal infusion pumps, implantation of deep brain stimulation hardware, and general neurosurgery and head trauma. Recom-
mendations were followed by the strength of the recommendation and the quality of the evidence supporting the recommendation.
Many recommendations, however, were based on expert opinion because rigorous clinical data are not available. These guidelines
represent a practical and useful approach to assist practicing clinicians in the management of these challenging infections.
Keywords. ventriculitis; meningitis; cerebrospinal fluid shunts; cerebrospinal fluid drains; central nervous system infections.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
hospital discharge or even many years later. We, therefore, prefer
Meningitis may not only be acquired in the community setting, the term “healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis” to
but may be associated with a variety of invasive procedures or be more representative of the diverse mechanisms (that include
head trauma. The latter group has often been classified as nosoco- placement of devices) that can lead to these serious illnesses.
mial meningitis because a different spectrum of microorganisms Summarized below are recommendations for the evaluation,
(ie, resistant gram-negative bacilli and staphylococci) is the more diagnosis, and management of healthcare-associated ventricu-
likely the etiologic agents, and different pathogenic mechanisms litis and meningitis, specifically addressing the approach to
are associated with the development of this disease. Although infections associated with cerebrospinal fluid shunts, cerebro-
many of these patients present with clinical symptoms during spinal fluid drains, intrathecal drug (eg, baclofen) therapy, deep
hospitalization, ventriculitis and meningitis may develop after brain stimulation hardware, and neurosurgery and head trauma.
These infections may be difficult to diagnose because changes in
cerebrospinal fluid parameters are often subtle, making it hard
Received 12 December 2016; editorial decision 12 December 2016; accepted 16 December 2016. to determine if the abnormalities are related to infection, related
*It is important to realize that guidelines cannot always account for individual variation
among patients. They are not intended to supplant physician judgment with respect to particu- to placement of devices, or following neurosurgery. Many of our
lar patients or special clinical situations. The Infectious Diseases Society of America considers recommendations are based on expert opinion because rigor-
adherence to these guidelines to be voluntary, with the ultimate determination regarding their
application to be made by the physician in the light of each patient’s individual circumstances.
ous clinical data are not available and the likelihood that clini-
Correspondence: A. R. Tunkel, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 222 Rich- cal trials will be conducted to answer some of these questions is
mond Street, Room G-M143 Providence, RI 02912 (Allan_Tunkel@brown.edu).
low. Our goal was to develop guidelines that offered a practical
Clinical Infectious Diseases® 2017;64(6):e34–e65 and useful approach to assist practicing clinicians in the man-
© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society
of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com
agement of these challenging infections. The panel followed a
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciw861 process used in the development of other IDSA guidelines that
e34 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

included a systematic weighting of the strength of recommen- 5. Symptoms and signs of pleuritis in patients with ventricu-
dations and quality of evidence using the GRADE (Grading of lopleural shunts, in the absence of another clear etiology,
Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) are indicative of CSF shunt infection (strong, moderate).
system (Figure 1) [1–5]. A detailed description of the methods, 6. Demonstration of bacteremia in a patient with a ven-
background, and evidence summaries that support each recom- triculoatrial shunt, in the absence of another clear source
mendation can be found in the full text of the guidelines. of bacteremia, is evidence of CSF shunt infection (strong,
moderate).
I. What are the Typical Symptoms and Signs in Patients with 7. Demonstration of glomerulonephritis in a patient with a
Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis? ventriculoatrial shunt is suggestive of CSF shunt infection
Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts and Drains (weak, low).
Recommendations
8. New or worsening altered mental status in patients with
1. New headache, nausea, lethargy, and/or change in men- external ventricular drains is suggestive of infection (weak,
tal status are suggestive of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt low).
infection (strong, moderate). 9. New fever and increased CSF white blood cell count in
2. Erythema and tenderness over the subcutaneous shunt patients with external ventricular drains could be sugges-
tubing are suggestive of CSF shunt infection (strong, tive of infection (weak, low).

moderate).
3. Fever, in the absence of another clear source of infection, Neurosurgery or Head Trauma
Recommendations
could be suggestive of CSF shunt infection (weak, low).
4. Symptoms and signs of peritonitis or abdominal tenderness 10. New headache, fever, evidence of meningeal irritation,
in patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunts, in the absence seizures, and/or worsening mental status are suggestive of
of another clear etiology, are indicative of CSF shunt infec- ventriculitis or meningitis in the setting of recent trauma or
tion (strong, moderate). neurosurgery (strong, moderate).
Figure 1. Approach and implications to rating the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment,
Development and Evaluation) methodology (unrestricted use of the figure granted by the US GRADE Network).
Practice Guidelines for Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • e35
11. Fever, in the absence of another clear source of infection, is therapy; a negative CSF culture in the setting of previous
suggestive of central nervous system (CNS) infection in the antimicrobial therapy does not exclude healthcare-associ-
setting of recent head trauma or neurosurgery (weak, low). ated ventriculitis and meningitis (strong, moderate).
Intrathecal Infusion Pumps Neurosurgery or Head Trauma

Recommendation Recommendations
12. New fever and drainage from the surgical site in patients 24. CSF pleocytosis with a positive culture and symptoms of
with intrathecal infusion pumps are suggestive of wound infection are indicative of a diagnosis of healthcare-associ-
infection (weak, low). ated ventriculitis or meningitis (strong, high).
25. Hypoglycorrhachia and elevated CSF protein concentra-
II. What are the Typical Cerebrospinal Fluid Findings in Patients tions are suggestive of the diagnosis of healthcare-associ-
with Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis?
ated ventriculitis or meningitis (weak, low).
Cell Count, Glucose, and Protein
Recommendations
26. Growth of an organism that is commonly considered a con-
taminant (eg, coagulase-negative staphylococcus) in enrich-
13. Abnormalities of CSF cell count, glucose, and/or protein ment broth only or on just 1 of multiple cultures in a patient
may not be reliable indicators for the presence of infection with normal CSF and no fever is not indicative of health-

in patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and care-associated ventriculitis or meningitis (strong, low).
meningitis (weak, moderate). 27. CSF cultures with multiple organisms from a single sam-
14. Normal CSF cell count, glucose, and protein may not relia- ple may be contaminants in patients with no symptoms of
bly exclude infection in patients with healthcare-associated infection or CSF pleocytosis (weak, low).
ventriculitis and meningitis (weak, moderate). 28. CSF cultures that grow Staphylococcus aureus or aerobic
15. A negative CSF Gram stain does not exclude the presence gram-negative bacilli are indicative of infection (strong,
of infection, especially in patients who have received previ- moderate).
ous antimicrobial therapy (strong, moderate). 29. CSF cultures that grow a fungal pathogen are indicative of
infection (strong, moderate).
Culture
Recommendations
III. What Specific Tests of Cerebrospinal Fluid can be used to
16. CSF cultures are the most important test to establish the Confirm the Patient has Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis
diagnosis of healthcare-associated ventriculitis and menin- and Meningitis?
Recommendations
gitis (strong, high).
17. If initial CSF cultures are negative in patients with CSF 30. An elevated CSF lactate or an elevated CSF procalcitonin,
shunts or drains with suspected infection, it is recom- or the combination of both, may be useful in the diagnosis
mended that cultures be held for at least 10 days in an of healthcare-associated bacterial ventriculitis and menin-
attempt to identify organisms such as Propionibacterium gitis (weak, moderate).
acnes (strong, high). 31. An elevated serum procalcitonin may be useful in dif-
18. If a CSF shunt or drain is removed in patients suspected of ferentiating between CSF abnormalities due to surgery
having infection, cultures of shunt and drain components or intracranial hemorrhage from those due to bacterial
are recommended (strong, moderate). infection (weak, low).
19. If a CSF shunt or drain is removed for indications other 32. Nucleic acid amplification tests, such as polymerase chain
than infection, cultures of shunt or drain components are reaction, on CSF may both increase the ability to identify a
not recommended (strong, moderate). pathogen and decrease the time to making a specific diag-
20. Blood cultures are recommended in patients with sus- nosis (weak, low).
pected ventriculoatrial shunt infections (strong, high). 33. Detection of β–D-glucan and galactomannan in CSF may
21. Blood cultures may be considered in patients with ven- be useful in the diagnosis of fungal ventriculitis and men-
triculoperitoneal and ventriculopleural shunts (weak, low). ingitis (strong, moderate).
22. Single or multiple positive CSF cultures in patients with
CSF pleocytosis and/or hypoglycorrhachia, or an increas- IV. What is the Role of Imaging in Patients with Suspected
ing cell count, and clinical symptoms suspicious for ven- Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis?
Recommendations
triculitis or meningitis, is indicative of CSF drain infection
(strong, high). 34. Neuroimaging is recommended in patients with suspected
23. CSF and blood cultures in selected patients should be healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis (strong,
obtained before the administration of antimicrobial moderate).

35. Magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium enhance- to that for S. aureus and based on in vitro susceptibility
ment and diffusion-weighted imaging is recommended for testing (strong, moderate).
detecting abnormalities in patients with healthcare-associ- 44. If the staphylococcal isolate is susceptible to rifampin, this
ated ventriculitis and meningitis (strong, moderate). agent may be considered in combination with other anti-
36. In patients with infected ventriculoperitoneal shunts and microbial agents for staphylococcal ventriculitis and men-
abdominal symptoms (eg, pain or tenderness), an ultra- ingitis (weak, low); rifampin is recommended as part of
sound or computed tomography of the abdomen is recom- combination therapy for any patient with intracranial or
mended to detect CSF loculations at the shunt terminus spinal hardware such as a CSF shunt or drain (strong, low).
(strong, moderate). 45. For treatment of patients with healthcare-associated ven-
triculitis and meningitis caused by staphylococci in whom
V. What is the Empiric Antimicrobial Approach for Patients beta-lactam agents or vancomycin cannot be used, linezolid
with Suspected Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and (strong, low), daptomycin (strong, low), or trimethoprim-sul-
Meningitis? famethoxazole (strong, low) is recommended, with selection
Recommendations
of a specific agent based on in vitro susceptibility testing.
37. Vancomycin plus an anti-pseudomonal beta-lactam (such as 46. For treatment of infection caused by Propionibacterium
cefepime, ceftazidime, or meropenem) is recommended as acnes, penicillin G is recommended (strong, moderate).

empiric therapy for healthcare-associated ventriculitis and 47. For treatment of infection caused by gram-negative bacilli,
meningitis; the choice of empiric beta-lactam agent should therapy should be based on in vitro susceptibility testing
be based on local in vitro susceptibility patterns (strong, low). with agents that achieve good CNS penetration (strong,
38. In seriously ill adult patients with healthcare-associated moderate).
ventriculitis and meningitis, the vancomycin trough con- 48. For treatment of infection caused by gram-negative bacilli
centration should be maintained at 15–20 μg/mL in those susceptible to third-generation cephalosporins, ceftriaxone
who receive intermittent bolus administration (strong, low). or cefotaxime is recommended (strong, moderate).
39. For patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and 49. For treatment of infection caused by Pseudomonas species,
meningitis who have experienced anaphylaxis to beta- the recommended therapy is cefepime, ceftazidime, or
lactam antimicrobial agents and in whom meropenem is meropenem (strong, moderate); recommended alternative
contraindicated, aztreonam or ciprofloxacin is recom- antimicrobial agents are aztreonam or a fluoroquinolone
mended for gram-negative coverage (strong, low). with in vitro activity (strong, moderate).
40. For patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and 50. For treatment of infection caused by extended-spectrum
meningitis who are colonized or infected elsewhere with beta-lactamase–producing gram-negative bacilli, mero-
a highly antimicrobial-resistant pathogen, adjusting the penem should be used if this isolate demonstrates in vitro
empiric regimen to treat for this pathogen is recommended susceptibility (strong, moderate).
(strong, low). 51. For treatment of infection caused by Acinetobacter spe-
cies, meropenem is recommended (strong, moderate);
VI. Once a Pathogen is Identified, What Specific Antimicrobial for strains that demonstrate carbapenem resistance, colis-
Agent(s) Should be Administered? timethate sodium or polymyxin B (either agent admin-
Recommendations
istered by the intravenous and intraventricular routes) is
41. For treatment of infection caused by methicillin-suscepti- recommended (strong, moderate).
ble S. aureus, nafcillin or oxacillin is recommended (strong, 52. Prolonged infusion of meropenem (each dose adminis-
moderate). If the patient cannot receive beta-lactam agents, tered over 3 hours) may be successful in treating resistant
the patient can be desensitized or may receive vancomycin gram-negative organisms (weak, low).
as an alternative agent (weak, moderate). 53. For treatment of infection caused by Candida species,
42. For treatment of infection caused by methicillin-resist- based on in vitro susceptibility testing, liposomal ampho-
ant S. aureus, vancomycin is recommended as first-line tericin B, often combined with 5-flucytosine, is recom-
therapy (strong, moderate), with consideration for an mended (strong, moderate); once the patient shows clinical
alternative antimicrobial agent if the vancomycin mini- improvement, therapy can be changed to fluconazole if the
mal inhibitory concentration (MIC) is ≥1 μg/mL (strong, isolated species is susceptible (weak, low).
moderate). 54. For treatment of infection caused by Aspergillus or
43. For treatment of infection caused by coagulase-negative Exserohilum species, voriconazole is recommended
staphylococci, the recommended therapy should be similar (strong, low).
VII. What is the Role of Intraventricular Antimicrobial Therapy X. How are Patients Monitored for Response to Treatment?
in Patients with Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Recommendations
Meningitis? 66. Patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and men-
Recommendations
ingitis should be monitored for response to treatment
55. Intraventricular antimicrobial therapy should be consid- based on clinical parameters (strong, low).
ered for patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis 67. In patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and
and meningitis in which the infection responds poorly to meningitis and an external drainage device, monitoring of
systemic antimicrobial therapy alone (strong, low). CSF cultures is recommended to ensure that they become
56. When antimicrobial therapy is administered via a ventricu- negative (strong, low).
lar drain, the drain should be clamped for 15–60 minutes to 68. In patients with no definitive clinical improvement, addi-
allow the agent to equilibrate throughout the CSF (strong, tional CSF analysis is recommended to ensure that the CSF
low). parameters have improved and the cultures become nega-
57. Dosages and intervals of intraventricular antimicrobial tive (strong, low).
therapy should be adjusted based on CSF antimicrobial 69. For external CSF drains not being used in the treatment of
concentrations to 10–20 times the MIC of the causative CSF shunt infection, daily CSF cultures and analysis are not
microorganism (strong, low), ventricular size (strong, low),

recommended unless clinically indicated (strong, low).
and daily output from the ventricular drain (strong, low).
XI. In Patients with Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts Who Develop
VIII. What is the Optimal Duration of Antimicrobial Therapy in Ventriculitis and Meningitis, When can a New Shunt be
Patients with Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis? Reimplanted?
Recommendations Recommendations
58. Infections caused by a coagulase-negative staphylococcus 70. In patients with infection caused by coagulase-negative
or P. acnes with no or minimal CSF pleocytosis, normal staphylococci or P. acnes, with no associated CSF abnor-
CSF glucose, and few clinical symptoms or systemic fea- malities and with negative CSF cultures for 48 hours after
tures should be treated for 10 days (strong, low). externalization, a new shunt should be reimplanted as soon
59. Infections caused by a coagulase-negative staphylococcus as the third day after removal (strong, low).
or P. acnes with significant CSF pleocytosis, CSF hypoglyc- 71. In patients with infection caused by a coagulase-negative
orrhachia, or clinical symptoms or systemic features should staphylococcus or P. acnes, with associated CSF abnormal-
be treated for 10–14 days (strong, low). ities but negative repeat CSF cultures, a new shunt should
60. Infections caused by S. aureus or gram-negative bacilli with be reimplanted after 7 days of antimicrobial therapy (strong,
or without significant CSF pleocytosis, CSF hypoglycor- low); if repeat cultures are positive, antimicrobial treatment
rhachia, or clinical symptoms or systemic features should is recommended until CSF cultures remain negative for 7–10
be treated for 10–14 days (strong, low); some experts sug- consecutive days before a new shunt is placed (strong, low).
gest treatment of infection caused by gram-negative bacilli 72. In patients with infection caused by S. aureus or gram-neg-
for 21 days (weak, low). ative bacilli, a new shunt should be reimplanted 10 days
61. In patients with repeatedly positive CSF cultures on appro- after CSF cultures are negative (strong, low).
priate antimicrobial therapy, treatment should be contin- 73. A period off antimicrobial therapy is not recommended to
ued for 10–14 after the last positive culture (strong, low). verify clearing of the infection before shunt reimplantation
(strong, low).
IX. What is the Role of Catheter Removal in Patients with
Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts or Drains? XII. What is the Best Approach to Prevent Infection in Patients
Recommendations Who are Receiving Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts?
Recommendations
62. Complete removal of an infected CSF shunt and replace-
ment with an external ventricular drain combined with 74. Periprocedural prophylactic antimicrobial administration
intravenous antimicrobial therapy is recommended in is recommended for patients undergoing CSF shunt or
patients with infected CSF shunts (strong, moderate). drain insertion (strong, moderate).
63. Removal of an infected CSF drain is recommended (strong, 75. Periprocedural prophylactic antimicrobial administration
moderate). is recommended for patients undergoing placement of
64. Removal of an infected intrathecal infusion pump is rec- external ventricular drains (strong, moderate).
ommended (strong, moderate). 76. Prolonged antimicrobial prophylaxis for the duration of
65. Removal of infected hardware in patients with deep brain the external ventricular drain is of uncertain benefit and
stimulation infections is recommended (strong, moderate). not recommended (strong, moderate).

77. Use of antimicrobial-impregnated CSF shunts and CSF interconnection of more than 1 catheter or device. The case
drains is recommended (strong, moderate). incidence of CSF shunt infection (ie, the occurrence of infec-
78. In patients with external ventricular drains, fixed interval tion in any given patient) has ranged from 5% to 41% in various
exchange is not recommended (strong, moderate). series, although the incidence is usually in the range of 4%–17%
79. Use of a standardized protocol for insertion of CSF shunts [7–14]. The operative incidence (ie, the occurrence of infection
and drains is recommended (strong, moderate). per procedure) has ranged from 2.8% to 14%, although most
series have generally reported operative infection rates of less
XIII. Is there a Role for Prophylactic Antimicrobial Therapy than 4% [15–17]. Factors associated with an increased risk of
in Patients Undergoing Neurosurgery or in those with
CSF shunt infection include premature birth (especially when
Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak?
Recommendation
associated with intraventricular hemorrhage), younger age, pre-
vious shunt infection, cause of hydrocephalus (more likely after
80. For neurosurgical patients, perioperative antimicrobial purulent meningitis, hemorrhage, and myelomeningocele), less
agents are recommended to prevent infections of the inci- experienced neurosurgeon, higher number of people traversing
sion (strong, high). the operating theater, exposure to perforated surgical gloves,
81. In patients with basilar skull fractures and a CSF leak, intraoperative use of the neuroendoscope, longer duration of
prophylactic antimicrobial agents are not recommended the shunt procedure, insertion of the catheter below the level of

(strong, moderate). the T7 vertebral body in those with ventriculoatrial shunting,
82. In patients with basilar skull fractures and a prolonged CSF improper patient skin preparation, shaving of skin, exposure of
leakage (>7 days), an attempt to repair the leak is recom- large areas of the patient’s skin during the procedure, and shunt
mended (strong, low). revision (risk is especially high in those undergoing 3 or more
83. In patients with basilar skull fractures and a CSF leak, pneu- revisions) [18, 19].
mococcal vaccination is recommended (strong, moderate). There are 4 mechanisms by which CSF shunts may become
infected. The first, and most frequent, mechanism is colo-
INTRODUCTION nization of the shunt at the time of surgery. This mechanism
Meningitis may be acquired in the community setting or may be is suggested by the timing of most shunt infections and by
associated with a variety of invasive procedures or head trauma. the microorganisms that are isolated. In one study in adults
The latter group has often been classified as nosocomial menin- with CSF shunt–associated infections, 62% occurred within
gitis because a different spectrum of microorganisms (eg, resist- the first month after shunt surgery and 72% were thought to
ant gram-negative bacilli and staphylococci) is the more likely be acquired intraoperatively [14]. The second mechanism is
etiologic agents and because different pathogenic mechanisms retrograde infection from the distal end of the shunt; for exam-
are associated with the development of this disease. Although ple, bowel perforation can lead to distal catheter contamination
many of these patients present with clinical symptoms during in patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunts. In addition, cer-
hospitalization, ventriculitis and meningitis may develop after tain populations of patients with CSF shunts, such as those with
hospital discharge or even many years later. Therefore, the term myelomeningocele, may have undergone multiple intraabdom-
“healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis” is more inal procedures related to either bowel or bladder continence
representative of the diverse mechanisms that can lead to this and may be at greater risk for shunt infection via this route.
serious illness. The following sections describe specific circum- A third mechanism is through the skin, such as after insertion
stances associated with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and of a needle into the reservoir or the shunt to culture the CSF
meningitis. or assess patency, after injection of a drug into the ventricular
reservoir, or after erosion of the catheter through the skin. The
Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts fourth mechanism is hematogenous seeding; patients with ven-
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts are considered permanent triculoatrial shunts have a foreign body (ie, the catheter) in the
catheters in which the proximal end of the shunt is in the cere- vascular system and are at continued risk of infection from bac-
bral ventricle, subdural space, an intracranial cyst, or the lum- teremia (with a retrograde infection). Patients with existing CSF
bar subarachnoid space; the distal end usually terminates in shunts can also develop community-acquired bacterial menin-
the peritoneal, pleural, or vascular space. Typically, part of the gitis unrelated to the shunt, and this may need to be considered
system (as a separate integrated component) is a pressure-reg- in the appropriate clinical circumstance.
ulating valve that is usually placed just outside the skull or as
an integral part of the distal tubing [6]. Reservoirs for inter- Cerebrospinal Fluid Drains
mittent percutaneous access can also be added to the system CSF drains are temporary catheters that divert CSF externally
or incorporated into the valve assembly. Additional hardware [20]. The proximal end is in the cerebral ventricle (ventricular
may include antisiphon valves and various connectors, allowing drain), the subdural space, an intracranial cyst, or the lumbar
subarachnoid space (lumbar drain). External ventricular drains Intrathecal Infusion Pumps
are most useful for temporary management in patients with ele- Administration of drug therapy (eg, baclofen) via intrathecal
vated intracranial pressure secondary to acute hydrocephalus infusion pumps has been successful for patients with intractable
caused by intracranial hemorrhage, neoplasm obstruction of spasticity, most commonly in patients with cerebral palsy but
the CSF circulation, or trauma. The distal end of the catheter also in patients with spasticity from multiple sclerosis, trauma,
is connected to a collecting system, which has a drip chamber, hereditary spastic paraplegia, and a variety of other conditions.
ports for measuring intracranial pressure, sampling and injec- Intrathecal opiate therapy has been used in the management of
tion ports (used to obtain CSF and inject medications), and intractable pain, usually in patients with malignancy. The cath-
a collection bag. Drains are usually placed via 1 incision and eter is inserted in the lumbar region and passed intrathecally
then tunneled a distance subcutaneously before exiting through with the tip at the highest spinal cord level at which the drug
the skin. In patients with external ventricular drains, the inci- is to be administered. Initially, the pumps were inserted sub-
dence of ventriculitis has ranged from 0% to 22%. In a large cutaneously in the abdomen, but this has been superseded in
metaanalysis of 35 studies that yielded 752 infections from some centers, particularly those focused on pediatric patients,
66 706 catheter-days of observation [21], the overall pooled by placement below the abdominal fascia to decrease the risk of
incidence of external ventricular drain–related CSF infection erosion through the skin. Once implanted, the device must be
was 11.4 per 1000 catheter-days (95% confidence interval [CI], periodically refilled with the desired drug via transcutaneous

9.3–13.5); for high-quality studies, the incidence was 10.6 per puncture of the device.
1000 catheter-days (95% CI, 8.3–13). Factors associated with an Few studies have evaluated the incidence of meningitis com-
increased risk of infection are intraventricular or subarachnoid plicating use of intrathecal infusion pumps. Reported infection
hemorrhage, cranial fracture with CSF leak, catheter irrigation, rates vary from 3.6% for those with subfascial placement of the
craniotomy, and duration of catheterization. Although contro- pump to 20% for those with subcutaneous placement of the
versy exists regarding the relationship between the duration pump [23]. Infections are usually more common in pediatric
of catheterization and risk of infection, most studies consider series [24, 25]. Most reported infections are at the incision site;
extended catheter duration (usually exceeding 5 days) to be an in one series, 3 of 49 patients developed meningitis in concert
important risk factor for subsequent infection [20]. However, with an incisional infection, while 4 others had meningitis
in the metaanalysis cited above [21], studies in which patients alone [26]. Another retrospective study identified infectious
had a mean catheter duration of less than 7 days had a pooled complications in 38 (18.4%) of 207 children with intrathecal
external ventricular drain infection rate of 19.6 per 1000 cath- infusion pumps delivering baclofen therapy [27]. Of these 38
eter-days, 12.8 per 1000 catheter-days for drains in place for patients, 25 had suspected or superficial infections and 13 had
7–10 days, and 8 per 1000 catheter-days for drains in place for deep-seated infections, with 2 patients diagnosed with men-
more than 10 days. Although infection is most likely introduced ingitis. In many reports, it is not possible to distinguish men-
at the time of placement, retrograde infection is another mech- ingitis from local infections related to the infusion pump. The
anism of infection of CSF drains. Microorganisms may enter majority of infections occur within the first 2 months of surgery,
the device by tracking from the exit site alongside the device, but infections may occur years after implantation as access for
gaining access to the fluid column that drains CSF, or they may drug refills may be needed every 3–6 months for the service life
be introduced from flushing of the tubing to maintain tubular of the device [26, 28]. The majority of reported infections are
patency. caused by Staphylococcus aureus, but a variety of other organ-
External lumbar drains, which may be placed to deal with isms, including multiply drug-resistant gram-negative bacilli,
complications of operative or post-traumatic transcutaneous have been recovered.
CSF leak or to aid in the diagnosis of normal-pressure hydro-
cephalus (potentially a lower-risk group), have been associated Deep Brain Stimulation Hardware
with meningitis rates of up to 5%. The risk factors associated Deep brain stimulation, introduced in 1987 for the treatment
with these drains include disconnection of the external drain- of Parkinson’s disease, is now being used for other conditions
age system and the presence of other infections. In a study such as dystonia, essential tremor, and obsessive-compulsive
involving 233 consecutive patients who underwent placement disorder [29]. The stimulator consists of an intracranial lead,
of an external lumbar drain for normal-pressure hydrocephalus a connector, and a pulse generator that is implanted in the
testing, the rate of meningitis was low (0.8%) [22]. The inves- infraclavicular area [30]. The incidence of infections following
tigators in that study used a strict protocol that called for no implantation of deep brain stimulation hardware varies from
surveillance testing of CSF, drainage of CSF for a maximum of 0.62% to 14.3% and can involve all 3 components of the device.
5 days, sterile reconnection after disconnection or fracture of The infection of the pulse generator is the most common, with
the drain, and permanent removal of the drain after a second infection usually caused by S. aureus, a coagulase-negative
disconnection or fracture. staphylococcus, or Propionibacterium acnes. These infections

may occur after initial implant or after the battery is exchanged These guidelines address the management of children and
at a subsequent surgery. adults with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis
Brain stimulation for intractable focal epilepsy involves with the objective to provide evidence-based guidelines to man-
placement of a combination of cortical and depth electrodes age these infections.
intracranially. These electrodes are used to both sense abnormal
electroencephalographic activity and to deliver patterned elec- METHODOLOGY
trical stimuli to interrupt developing seizures. The electrodes are
Practice Guidelines
connected to a controller that is implanted in the skull. In initial
“Practice guidelines are systematically developed statements
trials of this system, involving 256 patients, 2% of patients had
to assist practitioners and patients in making decisions about
a post-operative superficial wound infection; most were treated
appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances” [36].
successfully with antimicrobial therapy, but 1 patient required
Attributes of good guidelines include validity, reliability, repro-
explantation of the system [31]. The mean follow-up period was
ducibility, clinical applicability, clinical flexibility, clarity, multi-
5.4 patient implant years (a total of 1389 patient implant years),
disciplinary process, review of evidence, and documentation
during which 20 patients (7.8%) experienced a soft tissue infec-
[36].
tion at the implant site. Fourteen of these patients underwent
removal of the stimulator. The organisms involved and their

Panel Composition
treatments were not reported. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Standards
and Practice Guidelines Committee (SPGC) collaborated
Neurosurgery or Head Trauma with partner organizations to convene a panel of 10 experts
Ventriculitis and meningitis can be complications in patients on healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis. The
who have undergone neurosurgery or head trauma. Because panel represented pediatric and adult specialists in the field of
concern and evaluation of infection in the post-surgical and infectious diseases and represented other organizations whose
post-traumatic situations usually occur after a period of hos- members care for patients with healthcare-associated ven-
pitalization, this phenomenon is termed “healthcare-asso- triculitis and meningitis, including the following: American
ciated,” recognizing that there will be individual instances, Academy of Neurology, American Association of Neurological
such as in trauma, in which the contamination that led to Surgeons (AANS), Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS),
infection occurred prior to the patient’s entry into the health- Neurocritical Care Society (NCS), and Society for Healthcare
care system. The diagnosis may be difficult to establish since Epidemiology of America (SHEA). The AANS and CNS affirm
surgery and trauma can both induce CSF abnormalities that the educational content and the AAN affirms the value of
confound the usual diagnostic studies. These patients may this document. These guidelines were reviewed and endorsed
also have fever for reasons unrelated to infection (eg, central by NCS and SHEA. These guidelines were also reviewed and
fever, drug fever, thrombophlebitis, or chemical meningitis approved by the IDSA SPGC and the Board of Directors (BOD).
after posterior fossa surgery). Also, they are at increased risk
of developing infection because of the risk associated with Process Overview, Literature Selection, and Consensus Development
surgery (including surgery after head trauma), direct con- Based on Evidence
tamination of the central nervous system (CNS), and the The panel followed a process used by IDSA in the development
increased risk of meningitis in patients with a CSF leak. In a of other guidelines. The process included a systematic weight-
study of 334 procedures in patients undergoing craniotomy, ing of the quality of the evidence and the grade of the recom-
risk factors associated with post-craniotomy meningitis were mendation (Figure 1). [Approach and implications to rating the
use of CSF drain, CSF leak, and perioperative steroid use quality of evidence and strength of recommendations using the
[32]. Healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis is a GRADE methodology. Available at: http://www.gradeworking-
problem at medical facilities that perform neurosurgery. In group.org—Accessed July 2015].
a review of all causes of meningitis at Massachusetts General The panel reviewed articles based on literature reviews (using
Hospital between 1962 and 1988, 40% were classified as noso- PubMed and Medline); reviewed articles and book chapters
comial in origin [33]. In another study of confirmed bacterial (including references published in reviews and chapters); eval-
meningitis in adults who were hospitalized at an acute care uated the evidence, which included analysis of source litera-
teaching hospital in southern Taiwan, 48% of cases were clas- ture; and drafted recommendations. Panel members reviewed
sified as nosocomial infections [34]. In a recent epidemiolog- and approved questions. Subcategories were included for
ical study of bacterial meningitis in the United States [35], the some questions based on specific populations of patients who
incidence of meningitis caused by nosocomial pathogens (eg, may develop healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningi-
gram-negative bacilli and S. aureus) approached that caused tis after the following procedures or situations: cerebrospinal
by Neisseria meningitidis. fluid shunt placement, cerebrospinal fluid drain placement,
implantation of intrathecal infusion pumps, implantation of 3. Fever, in the absence of another clear source of infection,
deep brain stimulation hardware, and general neurosurgery and could be suggestive of CSF shunt infection (weak, low).
head trauma. Recommendations were followed by the strength 4. Symptoms and signs of peritonitis or abdominal tenderness
of the recommendation and the quality of the evidence support- in patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunts, in the absence
ing the recommendation. Many recommendations, however, of another clear etiology, are indicative of CSF shunt infec-
were based on expert opinion because rigorous clinical data are tion (strong, moderate).
not available, and the likelihood that clinical trials will be con- 5. Symptoms and signs of pleuritis in patients with ventricu-
ducted to answer some of these questions is low. For many of lopleural shunts, in the absence of another clear etiology, are
these recommendations, the grade was designated as “strong” indicative of CSF shunt infection (strong, moderate).
and evidence was designated as “low” if there was consensus 6. Demonstration of bacteremia in a patient with a ventricu-
among the experts around specific recommendations. Drafts loatrial shunt, in the absence of another clear source of
were reviewed by panel members, who provided input on the bacteremia, is evidence of CSF shunt infection (strong,
content as well as weighting and grading of the evidence. These moderate).
guidelines represent a practical and useful approach to assist 7. Demonstration of glomerulonephritis in a patient with a
practicing clinicians in the management of these challenging ventriculoatrial shunt is suggestive of CSF shunt infection
infections. (weak, low).

Evidence Summary
Guideline and Conflicts of Interest
The clinical features of CSF shunt infection can be quite var-
All panel members complied with IDSA policy on conflicts of
iable and depend on the pathogenesis of infection, organism
interest, which requires disclosure of any financial or other in-
virulence, and type of shunt [14, 37–39]. Unlike the organ-
terest that might be construed as constituting an actual, poten-
isms that cause community-acquired bacterial meningitis,
tial, or apparent conflict. They were provided IDSA’s conflicts of
those that cause CSF catheter-associated ventriculitis, such as
interest disclosure statement and asked to identify ties to com-
coagulase-negative staphylococci and P. acnes, are indolent,
panies that develop products that might be affected by prom-
evoke minimal inflammation, and are primarily pathogenic
ulgation of the guideline. Information was requested regarding
in the presence of prosthetic material. Frequently, there may
employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, re-
only be minimal ventriculitis without meningeal involvement
search funding, expert testimony, and membership on company
or only mechanical blockage as a result of biofilm formation
advisory committees. The panel decided on a case-by-case basis
in or on the catheter [40, 41]. Therefore, the clinical symp-
whether a conflict should limit member participation. Potential
toms of meningitis may be absent and the clinical presenta-
conflicts are listed in the Acknowledgments section.
tion more subtle with a longer duration of symptoms. The
most frequent symptoms in patients with CSF shunt infection
Future Revision Dates are headache, nausea, lethargy, and change in mental status
At annual intervals, the panel chair, SPGC liaison advisor, and (seen in as many as 65% of infected patients). These symp-
SPGC chair will determine the need for guideline revisions by toms occur as a result of shunt malfunction secondary to the
reviewing current literature. If necessary, the entire panel will infection. Fever is reported in as few as 14% to as many as 92%
be reconvened. When appropriate, the panel will recommend of cases, so the absence of fever cannot exclude the possibility
revisions to the IDSA SPGC, BOD, and other collaborating of infection, although fever is typically present in the majority
organizations for review and approval. of patients. Pain, often related to infection at the peritoneal or
pleural endings of the shunt, may be absent in as many as 60%
of infections [42]. Clinically, individual symptoms are not typ-
RECOMMENDATIONS AND EVIDENCE SUMMARIES ically both sensitive and specific [43, 44]. This is not surpris-
ing since the most common presenting complaints associated
I. What are the Typical Symptoms and Signs in Patients with with a request for assessment of a CSF shunt for infection (ie,
Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis? headache, nausea, vomiting, irritability, and fever) are present
Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts and Drains in a wide variety of other illnesses. Because the vast majority
Recommendations
of shunt infections occur in the first few months after shunt
1. New headache, nausea, lethargy, and/or change in men- surgery, the positive and negative predictive values of individ-
tal status are suggestive of CSF shunt infection (strong, ual symptoms will change depending on when the shunt pro-
moderate). cedure was performed [45].
2. Erythema and tenderness over the subcutaneous shunt tub- Symptoms and signs of a CSF shunt infection may be ref-
ing are suggestive of CSF shunt infection (strong, moderate). erable either to the proximal or distal portion of the shunt.

Infection beginning in the proximal portion of the shunt (ie, Cerebrospinal Fluid Drains
the catheter within the CSF space) may result in ventriculitis Recommendations
or meningitis and may cause shunt obstruction or decreased 8. New or worsening altered mental status in patients with
function [38, 46]. Rarely, intracranial empyemas and abscesses external ventricular drains is suggestive of infection (weak,
may occur secondary to an incompletely treated infection or in low).
the presence of hardware not removed as part of the treatment 9. New fever and increased CSF white blood cell count in
process. patients with external ventricular drains could be suggestive
Symptoms of infection referable to the distal portion of the of infection (weak, low).
shunt are more specific to terminus location [46]. Infected
shunts that terminate in the peritoneal or pleural space may Evidence Summary
lead to an inflammatory response in the absorbing tissue (ie, Ventricular drains become infected from organisms that are
peritonitis or pleuritis). In patients with infected ventricu- introduced through the drainage system or through the skin
loperitoneal shunts, symptoms of peritonitis appear as the site [47, 48]. Infections are more frequent with external ven-
peritoneal inflammation becomes more severe and as fever, tricular drains than with CSF shunts and may be caused by hos-
anorexia, and other signs and symptoms of an acute abdomen pital flora. The change in mental status that occurs in patients
develop. With low-virulence organisms, localizing signs of

in whom meningitis or ventriculitis develops may be difficult
peritonitis may be confined to abdominal tenderness and/or to distinguish from the impaired level of consciousness that is
guarding. In the peritoneal cavity, host defense mechanisms a manifestation of the patient’s underlying disease. In patients
attempt to limit the infection, often resulting in the encyst- with CSF drain–related ventriculitis, symptoms and signs are
ment of the shunt catheter, fluid buildup within the cyst, and not very useful in determining the underlying reason for drain
loculation of pockets of fluid within the abdomen. These fluid placement; subarachnoid hemorrhage or tumor can also cause
collections, often termed pseudocysts, can grow quite large a similar neurologic presentation and these patients are often
because the loculated CSF is not absorbed within the cyst. unresponsive in the intensive care unit and unable to report
Partial or complete shunt obstruction may result. However, symptoms. Fever that occurs in these patients may also be from
pseudocyst formation may be the result of noninfectious eti- other sources of infection. In one study that compared the clini-
ologies (eg, local inflammatory response to the foreign body) cal and laboratory findings at the time of insertion of the exter-
that will resolve with reimplantation of the distal part of the nal ventricular drain and at the time of documented infection,
catheter. increasing CSF pleocytosis (median white blood cell [WBC]
Infected ventriculoatrial shunts may lead to bacteremia sec- count of 175/mm3) and fever were the most reliable indicators
ondary to infected CSF directly entering the bloodstream, an of infection [49].
infected thrombus or atrial mural vegetation at the end of the
vascular catheter, or true bacterial endocarditis. However, the Neurosurgery or Head Trauma
clinical presentation of an infected vascular shunt is usually Recommendations
nonspecific, with fever and lethargy often seen. One unique 10. New headache, fever, evidence of meningeal irritation,
complication of a chronic vascular shunt is shunt nephritis seizures, and/or worsening mental status are suggestive of
[10, 38, 46], which is observed in 4%–14% of patients with ventriculitis or meningitis in the setting of recent trauma or
infected ventriculoatrial shunts. The majority of isolated bacte- neurosurgery (strong, moderate).
ria in patients with shunt nephritis are usually coagulase-neg- 11. Fever, in the absence of another clear source of infection,
ative staphylococci and S. aureus, although diphtheroids and is suggestive of CNS infection in the setting of recent head
other pathogens have been isolated. The pathogenesis of shunt trauma or neurosurgery (weak, low).
nephritis is similar to that of subacute bacterial endocarditis,
with deposition of immunoglobulin M and G antigen–antibody Evidence Summary
complexes in the renal glomeruli. The complement system is The recognition of infectious meningitis or ventriculitis in
activated with subsequent depletion of circulating complement patients who have had recent neurosurgery or head trauma can
factors C3 and C4. Failure to detect this condition can lead to be difficult because patients may not be able to provide any his-
permanent kidney injury. tory. Because there are little data on patients in this setting, this
However, some shunt infections are insidious and cause recommendation is based largely on studies of patients with bac-
few or no symptoms, perhaps only an intermittent low-grade terial meningitis in the community. The usual symptoms and
fever or general malaise. The patient may present with an unex- signs of meningitis can also be due to a recent intracranial bleed
plained occlusion of an open-ended peritoneal catheter or fail- or other procedures such as neurosurgery. Fever and altered
ure of peritoneal CSF absorption. mental status may be the only signs of infection [50]. Fever and
peripheral leukocytosis are also classic findings in meningitis, but erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein) have not
there may be many other causes of these findings in a hospital- been evaluated in the approach to diagnosis of these infections. In
ized patient [51]. Signs of meningeal irritation, including nuchal patients with suspected CSF shunt infection (ie, in those in whom
rigidity, are seen in only 20%–30% of patients [52, 53]. A history evidence of infection is suspected and other sources of infection
of a device placed into the CSF, a craniotomy or trauma resulting have been excluded), consultation with a neurosurgeon is neces-
in contamination of the CSF, and the absence of another cause for sary to access CSF for analysis. Note that CSF may not need to be
fevers or seizures makes this diagnosis more likely. obtained if another clear source of infection has been identified.
Changes in CSF parameters may be subtle [14], thus making it
Intrathecal Infusion Pumps hard to determine if the abnormalities are related to infection or
Recommendation secondary to the underlying reason for catheter placement or a
12. New fever and drainage from the surgical site in patients result of neurosurgery [55, 56]. Although high CSF white blood
with intrathecal infusion pumps are suggestive of wound cell counts correlate with the presence of infection, infection may
infection (weak, low). be present even in patients with normal CSF white blood cell
counts. CSF white blood cell counts and lactate concentrations
Evidence Summary were normal in approximately 20% of episodes in one study of
The clinical presentation of patients with intrathecal infusion adults with shunt-associated infection [14]. CSF eosinophilia

pump infections is not well documented in the literature. One (>8% of the differential count) has been associated with an indo-
retrospective case series described 45 (8%) infections in 571 lent infection [57]. Using a looser definition of eosinophilia (ie,
baclofen pump surgeries [28]. Clinical features were present >1% of the differential count), another analysis noted a corre-
for 12 patients with infection caused by gram-negative organ- lation of eosinophilia with CSF infection but also with subcu-
isms. The most common presentations were fever and drain- taneous (not transcutaneous) CSF extravasation, blood in the
age from the surgical site. Other series have reported similar CSF, younger age at shunt insertion, and intraventricular hem-
rates of infection [54]. As in patients who have CSF shunts, orrhage as a cause of the hydrocephalus [58]. However, others
symptoms can be divided into those indicative of local wound have questioned the association between CSF eosinophil count
infection (eg, erythema, swelling, and purulent drainage at and infection [59]. The cell count may be obscured by recent sur-
surgical sites) and those indicative of meningitis. Patients may gery during which blood spilled into the CSF or may have caused
present with either or both of these classes of symptoms. In an inflammatory reaction, so-called chemical meningitis [55].
one series of 19 infectious complications in 119 patients [23], Attention should also be paid to the site of CSF sampling, as the
one-third of patients had meningitic symptoms, and one-half CSF white blood cell count in samples obtained by shunt aspira-
of those occurred in the absence of symptoms at the surgi- tion or from ventricular fluid tends to be lower than when CSF
cal site, most occurred soon after surgery, implying infection is obtained after lumbar puncture. Conversely, it should also be
occurring at surgery rather than as a result of a pump refill. considered that in many patients with CSF shunts in the ventricu-
lar space, the lumbar cistern may not be in communication with
II. What are the Typical Cerebrospinal Fluid Findings in Patients the ventricular space, as is the case in obstructive hydrocephalus.
with Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis? In one cohort study of 230 consecutive patients with external
Cell Count, Glucose, and Protein CSF drains [56], CSF samples were collected daily and prospec-
Recommendations
tively evaluated for the presence of bacteria using Gram stain
13. Abnormalities of CSF cell count, glucose, and/or protein and culture. In this study, lumbar catheters were placed in 125
may not be reliable indicators for the presence of infection patients (54.3%), ventricular catheters in 97 patients (42.2%),
in patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and and more than 1 type of catheter in 8 patients (3.5%). The CSF
meningitis (weak, moderate). was also analyzed for leukocyte count, protein concentration,
14. Normal CSF cell count, glucose, and protein may not relia- glucose concentration, and ratio of CSF to blood glucose.
bly exclude infection in patients with healthcare-associated External drainage–related bacterial meningitis developed in
ventriculitis and meningitis (weak, moderate). 22 patients (9.6%). Results from analyses of 1516 CSF samples
15. A negative CSF Gram stain does not exclude the presence showed no significant differences between the patients in whom
of infection, especially in patients who have received previ- external ventricular drain–related meningitis developed and a
ous antimicrobial therapy (strong, moderate). control group without external ventricular drain–related men-
ingitis during the first 3 days of infection. Also, there were no
Evidence Summary significant differences during the 3 days preceding the infection
The diagnosis of CSF shunt and CSF drain infections is difficult. with regard to leukocyte count, protein concentration, glucose
Nonspecific laboratory parameters (eg, leukocytosis, elevation of concentration, and CSF-to-blood glucose ratio. The predictive

and diagnostic values of the CSF parameters were evaluated 22. Single or multiple positive CSF cultures in patients with
using receiver operating characteristic curves. They could not CSF pleocytosis and/or hypoglycorrhachia, or an increas-
establish a cutoff value with a sensitivity and specificity of at ing cell count, and clinical symptoms suspicious for ven-
least 60% for any of the CSF parameters. triculitis or meningitis, is indicative of CSF drain infection
In a prospective study that included 130 patients at a neuro- (strong, high).
surgical intensive care unit who received an external ventricu- 23. CSF and blood cultures in selected patients should be
lar drain [60], daily CSF samples were obtained and examined obtained before the administration of antimicrobial ther-
for cell count and glucose and protein content. Bacteriological apy; a negative CSF culture in the setting of previous anti-
cultures were taken 3 times a week. Standard laboratory param- microbial therapy does not exclude healthcare-associated
eters, such as peripheral leukocyte count, CSF glucose, and CSF ventriculitis and meningitis (strong, moderate).
protein, were not reliable predictors for incipient ventricular
catheter infection. The only parameter that significantly corre- Evidence Summary
lated with the occurrence of a positive CSF culture was the CSF CSF cultures from the shunt, reservoir, or drain are the most
cell count (P < .05). important tests for establishing the diagnosis of infection. The
One prospective study evaluated the utility of cell index, culture will usually be positive in patients with an infected
which is the ratio of leukocytes to erythrocytes in CSF and of

device even when there is no pleocytosis or alterations in CSF
leukocytes to erythrocytes in peripheral blood, in predicting chemistries. Positive cultures in only thioglycolate broth should
ventriculitis [61]. The study was limited to 13 patients with be interpreted with caution but may be significant in the appro-
intraventricular hemorrhage who had external ventricular priate clinical circumstance (eg, in patients who have received
drains; 7 patients developed a culture-confirmed ventriculi- prior antimicrobial therapy). CSF cultures may require several
tis. Diagnosis by cell index was possible up to 3 days prior to days to weeks of incubation before they can be called negative,
conventional diagnosis. The results, however, have not been especially for slow-growing organisms such as P. acnes, or the
validated. results may be negative in patients who have received previous
The diagnostic accuracy of a Gram stain is a function of the antimicrobial therapy. A negative result of a CSF culture does
number of microorganisms present, the type of meningeal not exclude the possibility of infection, and cultures should be
pathogen, and the receipt of prior antimicrobial therapy [62]. repeated if initial cultures are negative and infection is con-
A negative result of a CSF Gram stain does not exclude the sidered likely. In a study of 245 children with bacterial men-
likelihood of infection. The CSF Gram stain was positive in ingitis, the sensitivity of the CSF culture decreased from 88%
65 (71%) of 91 cases in one study of patients with nosocomial to 70% with any use of antimicrobial therapy (P < .001). The
meningitis [63]. sensitivity further decreased to 59% if antimicrobial therapy
was administered for >24 hours prior to the lumbar puncture,
Culture although patients with CSF shunts were specifically excluded
Recommendations
from this study [64]. A similar study in patients with health-
16. CSF cultures are the most important test to establish the care-associated ventriculitis and meningitis is currently lacking.
diagnosis of healthcare-associated ventriculitis and menin- However, one study of 86 cases of suspected nosocomial men-
gitis (strong, high). ingitis showed that use of broad-range 16S rRNA polymerase
17. If initial CSF cultures are negative in patients with CSF chain reaction (PCR) detected bacteria in approximately 50% of
shunts or drains with suspected infection, it is recom- culture-negative cases [65]. Most of the patients who were PCR
mended that cultures be held for at least 10 days in an positive and culture negative had received previous antimicro-
attempt to identify organisms such as P. acnes (strong, bial therapy.
high). Occasionally, CSF shunts may be tapped for evaluation of
18. If a CSF shunt or drain is removed in patients suspected of function in patients with no clinical evidence of infection and
having infection, cultures of shunt and drain components may be found to be culture positive. In this situation, contam-
are recommended (strong, moderate). ination may be responsible for the positive culture, but true
19. If a CSF shunt or drain is removed for indications other infection must be strongly considered. The shunt should be
than infection, cultures of shunt or drain components are retapped; a positive culture with the same microorganism is
not recommended (strong, moderate). usually indicative of true infection.
20. Blood cultures are recommended in patients with sus- Shunt failure in the absence of shunt infection is a com-
pected ventriculoatrial shunt infections (strong, high). mon occurrence; shunt components are frequently removed
21. Blood cultures may be considered in patients with ven- during surgical procedures to revise the failed shunt. In
triculoperitoneal and ventriculopleural shunts (weak, low). the absence of clinical evidence of a CSF shunt infection,
routine cultures of shunt components, when shunts are • Infection: Single or multiple positive CSF cultures with CSF ple-
removed for other indications, is not recommended. In one ocytosis and/or hypoglycorrhachia, or an increasing cell count,
study of 174 shunt revisions, 19 patients had positive shunt and clinical symptoms suspicious for ventriculitis or meningitis.
component cultures without signs of infection (ie, asymp-
tomatic bacteriologic shunt contamination); only 1 patient The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National
was treated with antimicrobial therapy [66]. There was no Healthcare Safety Network (CDC/NHSN) definition of health-
increase in the risk of shunt malfunction in this group when care-associated ventriculitis or meningitis includes at least 1 of
compared to other patients with CSF shunts in the database the following criteria (CDC/NHSN Surveillance Definitions;
at their institution. January 2015) [67]:
In patients with ventriculoatrial shunts, blood cultures
should be performed because bacteremia is invariably present • Organism cultured from CSF
in patients with infected ventriculoatrial shunts (positive blood • At least 2 of the following symptoms with no other recog-
cultures in >90% of cases). This contrasts with infections in nized cause in patients aged >1 year: fever >38°C or headache,
other types of CSF shunts in which the incidence of negative meningeal signs, or cranial nerve signs, or at least 2 of the fol-
blood cultures approaches 80% [38]. Blood cultures may be lowing symptoms with no other recognized cause in patients
considered in these patients, although positive results should aged ≤1 year: fever >38°C or hypothermia <36°C, apnea,

be interpreted cautiously in patients with nonvascular CSF bradycardia, or irritability and at least 1 of the following:
shunts and may represent a contaminant or another source of o Increased white cells, elevated protein, and decreased glu-
infection. cose in CSF
In patients with lumbar or ventricular drains, definite infec- o Organisms seen on Gram stain of CSF
tion is defined as a positive CSF culture (obtained from the o Organisms cultured from blood
ventricular or lumbar catheter) associated with CSF pleocytosis o Positive nonculture diagnostic laboratory test from CSF,
[20, 47]. Progressively decreasing CSF glucose and increasing blood, or urine
CSF protein accompanied by advancing CSF pleocytosis, in o Diagnostic single-antibody titer (immunoglobulin M) or
the absence of positive CSF cultures or positive Gram stain, 4-fold increase in paired sera (immunoglobulin G) for
characterizes a suspected infection in the absence of another organism.
etiology. A contaminating microorganism is defined as an iso-
lated positive CSF culture and/or positive Gram stain with a However, a nonculture diagnostic laboratory test or antibody
normal CSF cell count, CSF glucose, and CSF protein. Lozier titers for specific organisms are not often used in patients with
et al [20] proposed a classification system for determination of healthcare-associated ventriculitis or meningitis.
ventriculostomy infection in the presence of ventriculitis. Cases
with positive CSF cultures were classified as contaminant, col- Neurosurgery or Head Trauma
Recommendations
onization, suspected ventriculostomy-related infection, ven-
triculostomy-related infection, and ventriculitis. The definition 24. CSF pleocytosis with a positive culture and symptoms of
of ventriculitis included “clinical signs of meningitis” such as infection are indicative of a diagnosis of healthcare-associ-
neck stiffness and photophobia, which are often absent because ated ventriculitis or meningitis (strong, high).
organisms such as a coagulase-negative staphylococcus and 25. Hypoglycorrhachia and elevated CSF protein concentra-
P. acnes are indolent and may not cause significant inflamma- tions are suggestive of the diagnosis of healthcare-associ-
tion. In addition, patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage can ated ventriculitis or meningitis (weak, low).
have symptoms that mimic meningitis. The classification we 26. Growth of an organism that is commonly considered a con-
propose for patients with ventricular drains is a modification, taminant (eg, coagulase-negative staphylococcus) in enrich-
as follows: ment broth only or on just 1 of multiple cultures in a patient
with normal CSF and no fever is not indicative of health-
• Contamination: An isolated positive CSF culture or Gram care-associated ventriculitis or meningitis (strong, low).
stain, with normal CSF cell count and glucose and protein 27. CSF cultures with multiple organisms from a single sam-
concentrations and with lack of clinical symptoms suspicious ple may be contaminants in patients with no symptoms of
for ventriculitis or meningitis. infection or CSF pleocytosis (weak, low).
• Colonization: Multiple positive CSF cultures or Gram stain, 28. CSF cultures that grow S. aureus or aerobic gram-negative
with normal CSF cell count and glucose and protein concen- bacilli are indicative of infection (strong, moderate).
trations and with lack of clinical symptoms suspicious for 29. CSF cultures that grow a fungal pathogen are indicative of
ventriculitis or meningitis. infection (strong, moderate).

Evidence Summary drain rather than the drainage bag in order to decrease the risk
Many criteria have been used to establish the diagnosis of of contamination. Similarly, with a lumbar drain, the sampling
meningitis or ventriculitis in the setting of neurosurgery or port is the preferred site for obtaining CSF.
head trauma. Because there is no gold standard for defining The majority of reports of healthcare-associated meningitis
an infection, the definition has usually included an evalua- identified a single pathogen with each episode of meningitis.
tion of the microorganism that grew in culture, the number While sequential infections may be seen in a patient who has a
of positive cultures, and clinical parameters. However, the drainage device for a long period of time, it would be unusual
CDC/NHSN definition is useful in defining the likelihood to develop an infection with multiple organisms simultane-
of a true infection (see above). Older studies often required ously unless there was an obvious route of infection from a
only a single positive CSF culture. Others accepted either a contaminated source (eg, after head trauma with open frac-
CSF pleocytosis or low CSF glucose concentration to diagnose ture). In the absence of a likely source, changes in the CSF, or
infection. More recently, experts have suggested use of a com- symptoms of infection, this may represent contamination from
bination of findings to establish the diagnosis [20]. One study the time of CSF collection. If there is a question of whether or
used a combination of a positive CSF culture with CSF pleo- not the culture represents contamination, it is reasonable to
cytosis (at least 11 WBCs/mm3 and ≥50% neutrophils) along collect additional CSF to evaluate CSF parameters and repeat
with clinical symptoms [68]. This definition was later refined cultures in order to determine the significance of the result.

to require 2 positive CSF cultures with the same organism on Healthcare-associated fungal ventriculitis and meningitis
different days [51]. There are also reports of healthcare-as- is much less common than that caused by bacteria; however,
sociated meningitis in patients with a normal CSF white cell it may be seen after surgery or other invasive procedures or
count [50]. trauma. In the post-operative setting, Candida species are the
CSF changes following neurosurgery, head trauma, or intrac- most likely pathogen. This organism has been implicated in
ranial bleeding may be suggestive of infection. After neurosur- premature infants and in 5% of cases following neurosurgery
gery, the CSF white cell count can be quite high and the glucose [69]. Other fungal pathogens have also been isolated after trau-
concentration may be low. These patients often have headaches, matic head injuries, including Aspergillus [70] and Cryptococcus
nuchal rigidity, vomiting, and altered mentation. However, if neoformans [71]. The underlying host defect may also affect the
the CSF white blood cells are >7500/mm3 or if the CSF glucose epidemiology. In a review of oncology patients at Memorial
is <10 mg/dL, infection is more likely. High fever (≥40°C) or Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with meningitis between 1993
prolonged fever (>1 week) was more suggestive of infectious and 2004 [72], 7% of patients were infected with C. neoformans
meningitis in one study [55], although a limitation of this study and 1% with Candida albicans; 78% of these patients had prior
was that there was no single variable that could be used to accu- neurosurgery. In a multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis in
rately distinguish between bacterial and aseptic meningitis at September 2012 as a result of contaminated methylpredniso-
the time of presentation. lone made at a single compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts
The most common CSF contaminants are coagulase-negative [73–75], the index patient was infected with Aspergillus fumig-
staphylococci. In a study of pediatric patients who had daily atus, but most of the subsequent infections were caused by
cultures, more than half of the positive cultures were thought to Exserohilum rostratum. Of the 749 patients with infections,
be contaminants, and a coagulase-negative staphylococcus was meningitis was seen in 233 (31%) cases. Another 151 patients
isolated in more than half of those with positive cultures [47]. (20%) had meningitis and a concurrent spinal or paraspinal
It was thought to be a contaminant in 15 positive cultures and infection. In addition, a large number of patients had epidural
a true pathogen in only 3 cultures. However, a coagulase-neg- infections without meningitis [74].
ative staphylococcus is also one of the more common causes
of infection in patients who have had recent surgery or who III. What Specific Tests of Cerebrospinal Fluid can be used to
have external ventricular drains. Clues to this organism being a Confirm the Patient has Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis
contaminant included light growth, growth only in enrichment and Meningitis?
Recommendations
broth, and growth of the organism in a minority of cultures. All
patients with predefined “true infections” in this study had fever 30. An elevated CSF lactate or an elevated CSF procalcitonin,
and a peripheral leukocytosis. However, these results have not or the combination of both, may be useful in the diagnosis
been validated in other cohorts. of healthcare-associated bacterial ventriculitis and menin-
When cultures are collected from a drainage device (eg, an gitis (weak, moderate).
external ventricular drain or a lumbar drain), the absence of any 31. An elevated serum procalcitonin may be useful in differen-
change in CSF parameters (eg, cell count, glucose, protein) sug- tiating between CSF abnormalities due to surgery or intrac-
gests contamination. Ideally, cultures should be collected from ranial hemorrhage from those due to bacterial infection
the injection site and sampling port of an external ventricular (weak, low).
32. Nucleic acid amplification tests, such as PCR, on CSF may of hydrocephalus, CSF lactate concentrations were normal in
both increase the ability to identify a pathogen and decrease 20% of patients who were diagnosed with a shunt infection.
the time to making a specific diagnosis (weak, low).
33. Detection of β–D-glucan and galactomannan in CSF may Procalcitonin
be useful in the diagnosis of fungal ventriculitis and men- In patients who presented from the community with meningi-
ingitis (strong, moderate). tis, serum procalcitonin concentrations had the highest speci-
ficity for identifying bacterial meningitis when compared to
Evidence Summary C-reactive protein, blood and CSF leukocyte counts, CSF pro-
Lactate tein, CSF lactate concentrations, and the CSF-to-serum glucose
An elevated CSF lactate concentration of more than 3.5 to 4.2 ratio. The cutoff used in this study was 0.5 ng/mL. The speci-
mmol/L occurs more frequently in bacterial than in aseptic ficity was 100%, but the sensitivity was only 68% [82]. Serum
meningitis. Two large metaanalyses have concluded that ele- procalcitonin has been studied in patients who had a neurologic
vated CSF lactate concentration is better than the CSF WBC disorder that resulted in hydrocephalus and subsequent place-
count, glucose, or protein in differentiating bacterial menin- ment of an external ventricular drain [83]. This included patients
gitis from aseptic meningitis (sensitivity of 93% and 97% and with intracranial hemorrhage, infarction, or tumor. In this study,
specificity of 96% and 94%, respectively) [76, 77]. However, the body temperature, CSF white cell count, CSF protein, CSF lac-

studies in these metaanalyses mostly equated aseptic meningi- tate and CSF-to-serum glucose ratio did not predict infection.
tis with viral meningitis, and few post-surgical or post-trauma All patients with a serum procalcitonin concentration >1 ng/mL
patients were included. In patients with healthcare-associated had a proven CSF infection. The mean procalcitonin concentra-
ventriculitis and meningitis, CSF lactate concentrations, using tion with a positive CSF culture was 4.7 ± 1.0 vs 0.2 ± 0.01 ng/
a cutoff of 4 mmol/L, are both sensitive (88%) and highly spe- mL (P < .0001). The sensitivity and specificity of this cutoff were
cific (98%) in making the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis both 100%. In this study, the CSF lactate in 34 patients with a
following neurosurgery [78]. The positive predictive value positive culture compared to those with a negative culture
was 96% and the negative predictive value was 94%; this study was 42 mmol/L vs 34 mmol/L (P = .76) [83]. The CSF lactate
included patients who had a lumbar puncture performed in the group with negative cultures was higher than would be
within 40 days of neurosurgery. However, the evidence is con- expected in patients without bacterial meningitis. This may be
flicting. In a prospective study of 16 patients with an intraven- due to the large number of patients who had an intracranial
tricular hemorrhage who had an external ventricular drain, hemorrhage. In a more recent observational prospective study
the CSF lactate was elevated in all 3 patients with infection. In of 36 adult patients with severe head trauma and an external
11 of 13 patients without infection it was <4 mmol/L, and in 2 ventricular drain [84], patients with negative CSF cultures had
patients it was between 4 and 6 mmol/L. One of these patients a mean serum procalcitonin concentration <2.0 ng/mL, while
had a grade 5 subarachnoid hemorrhage and the other had patients with positive cultures had a mean serum procalcitonin
renal insufficiency. In this population, the positive predictive of 4.18 ng/mL. These results suggest that early high serum pro-
value for infection was 60% and the negative predictive value calcitonin concentration is a reliable indicator of bacterial CNS
was 100% [79]. Because subarachnoid hemorrhage and brain infection in patients with external ventricular drains. Another
injury are known to cause hyperglycolysis, it is not surprising study found the combination of both CSF procalcitonin and CSF
that CSF lactate may be elevated in these patients. Metabolic lactate concentrations, using cutoff values of 0.075 ng/mL and
suppressive therapies (benzodiazepines and opiates) have also 3.45 mmol/L, respectively, to have a high diagnostic accuracy
been shown to decrease CSF lactate concentrations in this (sensitivity of 96% and negative predictive value of 97.6%) in
population, and specific elevations in CSF lactate concen- distinguishing between post-neurosurgical bacterial and aseptic
trations (mean 3.2 ± 0.9 mmol/L) have been associated with meningitis [85]. While these studies are quite supportive, both
withdrawal of sedation [80, 81]. In a prospective clinical study are small and require further validation.
to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of CSF lactate as a marker
of post-neurosurgical bacterial meningitis [80], increased Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests
CSF lactate (≥4 mmol/L) demonstrated a better predictive PCR has been evaluated to detect the presence of bacterial DNA
value than CSF hypoglycorrhachia or pleocytosis and had a in CSF from patients with external ventricular drains and ven-
sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 78%, with a 97% negative triculoperitoneal shunts. In one study that used broad-range
predictive value. However, a retrospective review of cases of 16S rRNA PCR to detect bacteria in 86 specimens of patients
bacterial meningitis associated with a CSF shunt showed that with suspected nosocomial meningitis, 42 (49%) were culture
if a cutoff value of 4 mmol/L for CSF lactate had been used, negative, but PCR positive [65]. There were no positive cul-
almost half of the infections would have been missed [14]. In ture results in patients with a negative CSF PCR, suggesting
patients who already have a CSF shunt for the management that a negative result is predictive of the absence of infection.

However, more studies are needed before routine use of PCR recommended to detect CSF loculations at the shunt ter-
can be recommended in this setting. minus (strong, moderate).
In a study of patients with ventricular drainage catheters, add-
ing broad-range real-time PCR (RT-PCR) to culture increased Evidence Summary
the ability to identify pathogens by 25%; however, the sensitivity Neuroimaging studies, while rarely the definitive study in
of the RT-PCR was only 47.1% (95% CI, 39.8%–64.8%) and the patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningi-
specificity was 93.4% (95% CI, 90.0%–95.8%). The test was most tis, are very frequently obtained in the course of patient eval-
useful for identifying fastidious gram-negative bacilli [86]. uation. For patients with CSF shunts, and those undergoing
craniotomy or suffering from trauma, these studies will be
β–D-Glucan and Galactomannan part of the initial evaluation, perhaps even before infection
If there is a concern for fungal ventriculitis or meningitis, addi- is strongly suspected. In the context of a known infection,
tional studies may be needed because the inability to isolate findings of potential importance include CSF shunt hard-
the organism is not adequate to exclude the diagnosis. These ware retained from previous surgical procedures or, rarely,
could include CSF galactomannan and CSF (1, 3)-β-D-glu- a subdural empyema or brain abscess. Plain radiographs of
can. Candida meningitis may be difficult to diagnose because the shunt system to document retained hardware may also
the sensitivity of CSF cultures is low. CSF Candida mannan be helpful. Neuroimaging may also be useful in determining

antigen and anti-mannan antibodies may be useful additional the source of infection (eg, local extension from an adjacent
tests in patients with suspected Candida meningitis in whom infection) and in identifying complications from the infection,
cultures are negative [87]. CSF galactomannan has been evalu- including hydrocephalus, vasculitis, or thrombosis of vessels
ated in several studies of patients with CNS infections caused by [92, 93]. Noncontrast CT scanning may be useful in evaluating
Aspergillus spp. and may be useful in establishing the diagnosis noninfectious complications but is often normal in the setting
before the culture is positive [74, 88, 89]. of uncomplicated meningitis. In the setting of ventriculitis, CT
In the 2012 outbreak of fungal meningitis that resulted from scans will show ependymal enhancement after the adminis-
contaminated methylprednisolone injections [74], laboratory tration of intravenous contrast. Magnetic resonance imaging
evidence was supportive of a fungal infection in 173 patients is more sensitive than CT for detecting ventriculitis. Fluid-
(33%) in whom specimens were obtained, including direct attenuation inversion recovery and post-contrast T1 weighted
detection of fungal DNA in 87 samples (50%), fungal isolation in images may be most useful. Diffusion weighted imaging may
33 (19%), and evidence from multiple techniques in 53 (31%). In be used to detect pus in the ventricular system (visualized as
5 patients with CSF (1, 3)-β-D-glucan who were evaluated, 3 had bright signal) and to differentiate a brain abscess from malig-
elevated CSF (1, 3)-β-D-glucan concentrations (range, 39–2396 nancy [92]. Care must be taken to ensure that the specific
pg/mL) and responded to antifungal therapy. Measurement devices used for intracranial pressure monitoring and external
of CSF (1, 3)-β-D-glucan using the manufacturer’s cutoff of CSF drainage are cleared for magnetic resonance imaging.
≥80 pg/mL was highly sensitive (96%) and specific (95%) for the The diagnosis of CSF shunt infection may be more difficult
diagnosis of proven fungal meningitis associated with contam- to establish when the distal portion of the ventriculoperitoneal
inated methylprednisolone injections [90]. Another study has shunt is infected. The shunt tap may be normal with negative
also demonstrated the usefulness of CSF (1, 3)-β-D-glucan for cultures if a retrograde infection has not yet developed in the
diagnosing or excluding fungal CNS infection [91]. patient. Ventriculoperitoneal shunts with distal occlusion and
without an obvious mechanical cause and with no symptoms
IV. What is the Role of Imaging in Patients with Suspected or signs of infection have been associated with infection. An
Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis? ultrasound or CT of the abdomen may identify CSF loculations
Recommendations
at the shunt terminus in patients with abdominal symptoms
34. Neuroimaging is recommended in patients with suspected or signs. Although some free fluid in the pleural or peritoneal
healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis (strong, cavities is normal, it should not be confused with the larger
moderate). volumes and cysts seen with infection at the shunt terminus.
35. Magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium enhance-
ment and diffusion-weighted imaging is recommended V. What is the Empiric Antimicrobial Approach for Patients with
for detecting abnormalities in patients with health- Suspected Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis?
Recommendations
care-associated ventriculitis and meningitis (strong,
moderate). 37. Vancomycin plus an anti-pseudomonal beta-lactam (such
36. In patients with infected ventriculoperitoneal shunts and as cefepime, ceftazidime, or meropenem) is recommended
abdominal symptoms (eg, pain or tenderness), an ultra- as empiric therapy for healthcare-associated ventriculitis
sound or computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen is and meningitis; the choice of empiric beta-lactam agent
should be based on local in vitro susceptibility patterns VI. Once a Pathogen is Identified, what Specific Antimicrobial
(strong, low). Agent(s) Should be Administered?
Recommendations
38. In seriously ill adult patients with healthcare-associated
ventriculitis and meningitis, the vancomycin trough con- 41. For treatment of infection caused by methicillin-suscepti-
centration should be maintained at 15–20 μg/mL in those ble S. aureus, nafcillin or oxacillin is recommended (strong,
who receive intermittent bolus administration (strong, moderate). If the patient cannot receive beta-lactam agents,
low). the patient can be desensitized or may receive vancomycin
39. For patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and as an alternative agent (weak, moderate).
meningitis who have experienced anaphylaxis to beta- 42. For treatment of infection caused by methicillin-resistant
lactam antimicrobial agents and in whom meropenem is S. aureus, vancomycin is recommended as first-line therapy
contraindicated, aztreonam or ciprofloxacin is recom- (strong, moderate), with consideration for an alternative
mended for gram-negative coverage (strong, low). antimicrobial agent if the vancomycin minimal inhibitory
40. For patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and concentration (MIC) is ≥1 μg/mL (strong, moderate).
meningitis who are colonized or infected elsewhere with 43. For treatment of infection caused by coagulase-negative
a highly antimicrobial-resistant pathogen, adjusting the staphylococci, the recommended therapy should be simi-
empiric regimen to treat for this pathogen is recommended lar to that for S. aureus and based on in vitro susceptibility

(strong, low). testing (strong, moderate).
44. If the staphylococcal isolate is susceptible to rifampin,
Evidence Summary this agent may be considered in combination with other
The principles of antimicrobial therapy for patients with antimicrobial agents for staphylococcal ventriculitis and
healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis are gener- meningitis (weak, low); rifampin is recommended as part
ally the same as those for acute bacterial meningitis [94]: the of combination therapy for any patient with intracranial
agent must penetrate the CNS, attain adequate CSF concen- or spinal hardware such as a CSF shunt or drain (strong,
trations, and have bactericidal activity against the infecting low).
pathogen. However, some of the microorganisms that cause 45. For treatment of patients with healthcare-associated ven-
these infections often form biofilms in those patients with triculitis and meningitis caused by staphylococci in whom
prosthetic devices into which antimicrobial agents do not beta-lactam agents or vancomycin cannot be used, linezolid
penetrate well. Therefore, drug therapy may be problematic (strong, low), daptomycin (strong, low), or trimethoprim-sul-
when the catheter is not removed. When a CSF pleocytosis famethoxazole (strong, low) is recommended, with selection
is present, antimicrobial therapy should be initiated after of a specific agent based on in vitro susceptibility testing.
appropriate cultures are obtained, but before culture results 46. For treatment of infection caused by P. acnes, penicillin G is
are available, if there is suspicion of infection. The most recommended (strong, moderate).
likely microorganisms associated with CSF shunt and drain 47. For treatment of infection caused by gram-negative bacilli,
infections are coagulase-negative staphylococci (especially therapy should be based on in vitro susceptibility testing
Staphylococcus epidermidis), S. aureus, P. acnes, and gram-neg- with agents that achieve good CNS penetration (strong,
ative bacilli (including Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spe- moderate).
cies, Citrobacter species, Serratia species, and Pseudomonas 48. For treatment of infection caused by gram-negative bacilli
aeruginosa). Empirical therapy with intravenous vancomy- susceptible to third-generation cephalosporins, ceftriaxone
cin plus cefepime, ceftazidime, or meropenem is appropriate or cefotaxime is recommended (strong, moderate).
[18]. The serum vancomycin trough concentration should 49. For treatment of infection caused by Pseudomonas species,
be maintained between 15 and 20 µg/mL in adult patients the recommended therapy is cefepime, ceftazidime, or
who receive intermittent bolus administration [94, 95]. The meropenem (strong, moderate); recommended alternative
empirical choice to treat a presumptive gram-negative patho- antimicrobial agents are aztreonam or a fluoroquinolone
gen should be based on the local antimicrobial susceptibility with in vitro activity (strong, moderate).
patterns of these pathogens. 50. For treatment of infection caused by extended-spectrum
In a patient with anaphylaxis to beta-lactam antimicrobial beta-lactamase–producing gram-negative bacilli, mero-
agents and in whom meropenem is contraindicated, empiric penem should be used if this isolate demonstrates in vitro
therapy against gram-negative pathogens should be either susceptibility (strong, moderate).
aztreonam or ciprofloxacin. The choice of the specific antimi- 51. For treatment of infection caused by Acinetobacter species,
crobial agents should take into account local in vitro suscepti- meropenem is recommended (strong, moderate); for strains
bility patterns as well as the bacteria previously isolated from that demonstrate carbapenem resistance, colistimethate
the patient. sodium or polymyxin B (either agent administered by the

intravenous and intraventricular routes) is recommended For treatment of healthcare-associated ventriculitis and
(strong, moderate). meningitis caused by gram-negative bacilli, therapy should
52. Prolonged infusion of meropenem (each dose adminis- be based on in vitro susceptibility testing. One retrospec-
tered over 3 hours) may be successful in treating resistant tive study of meningitis caused by Enterobacter spp. in 19
gram-negative organisms (weak, low). patients showed that clinical cure or improvement occurred
53. For treatment of infection caused by Candida species, in 54% of those treated with a third-generation cephalo-
based on in vitro susceptibility testing, liposomal ampho- sporin compared to 83% of patients who were treated with
tericin B, often combined with 5-flucytosine, is recom- trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole [107]. Another case series
mended (strong, moderate); once the patient shows clinical of 13 episodes of Enterobacter meningitis treated with vari-
improvement, therapy can be changed to fluconazole if the ous antimicrobial regimens, including an additional 33 epi-
isolated species is susceptible (weak, low). sodes from the literature, reported that the development of
54. For treatment of infection caused by Aspergillus or Exserohilum resistance to beta-lactam agents may be much higher [108].
species, voriconazole is recommended (strong, low). All patients who received trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
were cured compared to about 70% of those who received
Evidence Summary beta-lactam agents. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or
Antimicrobial therapy should be modified once a microorganism meropenem may be preferred for treatment of organisms

is isolated and in vitro susceptibility results are available (Table 1), that hyperproduce β–lactamase.
although there are no randomized controlled trials that compared For patients with Acinetobacter ventriculomeningitis, empiric
clinically meaningful outcomes (eg, attributable mortality, mor- therapy should be initiated with meropenem. If carbapenem
bidity, or clinical cure rates) between different antimicrobials, resistance is suspected, a combination of intravenous and
doses, or durations of treatment for healthcare-associated ven- intraventricular colistimethate sodium or polymyxin B is rec-
triculitis and meningitis. Most studies that evaluated intravenous ommended [109]. In a recent case series of 40 patients with
antimicrobials for meningitis or ventriculitis, including external Acinetobacter baumannii meningitis, the mortality was 39%; 55%
ventricular drain–related ventriculitis, were pharmacokinetic of them had isolates resistant to carbapenems. Use of either intra-
studies, uncontrolled case series, or case reports reporting clinical ventricular or intrathecal colistimethate in those with carbape-
and microbiologic cure rates. Recommended dosages of antimi- nem resistance was associated with a cure of their infection [110].
crobial agents in infants and children and in adults with normal The duration of administration of beta-lactam agents may affect
renal and hepatic function are shown in Table 2. clinical outcomes. When the carbapenems and piperacillin/tazo-
Vancomycin should be used if infection is caused by bactam were given as an extended infusion lasting ≥3 hours or as
methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). If the patient is a continuous infusion rather than with standard short-term infu-
infected with MRSA strains that have a vancomycin MIC sion, clinical outcomes were improved [111]. Prolonged infusion
of ≥1 µg/mL, linezolid, daptomycin, or trimethoprim- of meropenem, each dose administered over 3 hours, may also
sulfamethoxazole should be considered [96]. If staph- be successful in treating resistant gram-negative infections [112].
ylococci are isolated and the organism is methicillin The definitive treatment for fungal meningitis depends
susceptible, therapy should be changed to either nafcillin on the pathogen. An intravenous amphotericin B prepara-
or oxacillin. The addition of rifampin to an antistaphylo- tion, often combined with 5-flucytosine, is recommended for
coccal agent may augment treatment [97–99], especially Candida ventriculitis and meningitis [113]. A lipid formulation
if the infected catheter is retained. One patient with an of amphotericin B (usually liposomal amphotericin B) is rec-
S. epidermidis ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection [100] ommended because these formulations achieved higher CNS
and another with an Enterococcus faecalis ventriculoperito- concentrations than other formulations of amphotericin B in a
neal shunt infection [101] were cured with shunt removal rabbit model [114]. Consideration can be given to a step-down
and intravenous linezolid. Linezolid has been successfully of therapy to fluconazole after there is clinical improvement and
used in a number of other patients with CSF shunt infec- if isolated Candida is a susceptible species [113]. Echinocandins
tion [102–104]; however, linezolid is not considered first- should not be used because they do not achieve adequate CSF
line therapy for this infection. Daptomycin, combined with concentrations. Some agents have shown effectiveness in exper-
rifampin, has also been successfully used in patients with imental animal models, but at doses higher than would be used
infections of CSF shunts caused by gram-positive patho- in humans. Treatment should continue until all signs and symp-
gens [105]. In one study of 6 neurosurgical patients with toms of infection have resolved, CSF has normalized, and there
indwelling external CSF shunts and suspected meningitis or is no radiographic evidence of ongoing infection.
ventriculitis [106], a single dose of daptomycin (10 mg/kg) The recommended treatment for Aspergillus ventriculitis and
led to an overall CSF penetration of 0.8%. When corrected meningitis is voriconazole [115], with the goal of maintaining
for protein binding, the overall CSF penetration was 11.5%. a serum trough concentration of 2–5 µg/mL. Posaconazole,
Table 1. Recommended Antimicrobial Therapy in Patients With Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis Based on Isolated Pathogen and In
Vitro Susceptibility Testing
Microorganism Standard Therapy Alternative Therapies

a
Staphylococci
Methicillin sensitive Nafcillin or oxacillin Vancomycin
Methicillin resistant Vancomycin Daptomycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, or linezolid
Propionibacterium acnes Penicillin G Third-generation cephalosporin,b vancomycin, daptomycin, or
linezolid
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Penicillin MIC ≤0.06 μg/mL Penicillin G Third-generation cephalosporinb
Penicillin MIC ≥0.12 μg/mL
Cefotaxime or ceftriaxone MIC <1.0 μg/mL Third-generation cephalosporinb Cefepime or meropenem
Cefotaxime or ceftriaxone MIC ≥1.0 μg/mL Vancomycin plus a third-generation Moxifloxacind
cephalosporinb,c
Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cefepime, ceftazidime, or meropenem Aztreonam or ciprofloxacin
Haemophilus influenzae
β-lactamase negative Ampicillin Third-generation cephalosporin,b cefepime, or a fluoroquinolone
β-lactamase positive Third-generation cephalosporinb Cefepime, aztreonam, or a fluoroquinolone
Extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Meropenem Cefepime or a fluoroquinolone

gram-negative bacilli
Acinetobacter baumannii Meropenem Colistin (usually formulated as colistimethate sodium)e or
polymyxin Be
Other Enterobacteriaceaef Third-generation cephalosporinb Meropenem, aztreonam, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, or
ciprofloxacin
Candida speciesg Lipid formulation of amphotericin Fluconazole or voriconazole
B ± flucytosine
Aspergillus species Voriconazole Lipid formulation of amphotericin B or posaconazole
Abbreviation: MIC, minimal inhibitory concentration.

a
Add rifampin if organism is susceptible and prosthetic material is also in place.
b
Cefotaxime or ceftriaxone.
c
Consider adding rifampin if the MIC to ceftriaxone is >2 μg/mL.
d
Many authorities would combine moxifloxacin with either vancomycin or a third-generation cephalosporin (cefotaxime or ceftriaxone).
e
May also need to administer via the intraventricular or intrathecal route.
f
Choice of agent based in in vitro susceptibility testing. For organisms (eg, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Serratia) that may hyperproduce β-lactamases, meropenem or trimethoprim-sulfame-
thoxazole may be preferred.
g
Candida kruzei should not be treated with fluconazole. Candida glabrata may be treated with fluconazole if it is susceptible; however, many isolates will only be susceptible to high doses
or will be resistant.
liposomal amphotericin B, and amphotericin B lipid complex minutes to allow the agent to equilibrate throughout the
are reasonable alternatives. The duration of therapy for these CSF (strong, low).
infections depends largely on the host. If the patient is chroni- 57. Dosages and intervals of intraventricular antimicrobial
cally immunosuppressed, the initial treatment may be followed therapy should be adjusted based on CSF antimicrobial
by oral therapy to prevent relapse. Any immunosuppressive concentrations to 10–20 times the MIC of the causative
agents that can be safely discontinued should be stopped. In the microorganism (strong, low), ventricular size (strong, low),
2012 outbreak of E. rostratum meningitis, voriconazole was also and daily output from the ventricular drain (strong, low).
recommended. A 3-month course of treatment appeared to be
adequate for patients who had isolated meningitis and who had Evidence Summary
no symptoms or CSF abnormalities after 3 months [74, 75]. Direct instillation of antimicrobial agents into the lateral ven-
tricle or the lumbar thecal sac (in the case of lumbar shunts)
VII. What is the Role of Intraventricular Antimicrobial Therapy may be necessary in patients with CSF shunt or drain infec-
in Patients with Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and tions that are difficult to eradicate with intravenous antimi-
Meningitis? crobial therapy alone or when the patient is unable to undergo
Recommendations
the surgical components of therapy. This route of admin-
55. Intraventricular antimicrobial therapy should be consid- istration bypasses the blood–CSF barrier, with controlled
ered for patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis delivery of the antimicrobial agent to the site of infection.
and meningitis in which the infection responds poorly to Intraventricular antimicrobials have the theoretical advantage
systemic antimicrobial therapy alone (strong, low). of achieving high CSF concentrations without high systemic
56. When antimicrobial therapy is administered via a ven- blood concentrations, hence lower potential systemic toxic-
tricular drain, the drain should be clamped for 15–60 ities [116]. However, the efficacy and safety of this route of

Table 2. Recommended Dosages of Antimicrobial Agents in Infants and Children and in Adults With Normal Renal and Hepatic Function
Total Daily Dose (Dosing Interval in Hours)
Antimicrobial Agent Infants and Children Adults
Amikacina 22.5 mg/kg (8) 15 mg/kg (8)

Amphotericin B lipid complex 5 mg/kg (24) 5 mg/kg (24)
Ampicillin 300–400 mg/kg (6) 12 g (4)
Aztreonam 120 mg/kg (6–8) 6–8 g (6–8)
Cefepime 150 mg/kg (8) 6 g (8)
Cefotaxime 300 mg/kg (6–8) 8–12 g (4–6)
Ceftazidime 200 mg/kg (8) 6 g (8)
Ceftriaxone 100 mg/kg (12–24) 4 g (12)
Ciprofloxacin 30 mg/kg (8–12) 800–1200 mg (8–12)
Daptomycin Dose not establishedb 6–10 mg/kg (24)
Fluconazole 12 mg/kg (24) 400–800 mg (24)
Gentamicina 7.5 mg/kg (8) 5 mg/kg (8)
Linezolid Age <12 years: 30 mg/kg (8)c 1200 mg (12)
Age ≥12 years: 20 mg/kg (12)c

Liposomal amphotericin B 3–5 mg/kg (24) 3–5 mg/kg (24)d
Meropenem 120 mg/kg (8) 6 g (8)
Moxifloxacine Dose not established 400 mg (24)
Nafcillin 200 mg/kg (6) 12 g (4)
Oxacillin 200 mg/kg (6) 12 g (4)
Penicillin G 300 000 units/kg (4–6) 24 million units (4)
Posaconazole — 800 mg (6–12)f
g
Rifampin 20 mg/kg (24) 600 mg (24)
Tobramycina 7.5 mg/kg (8) 5 mg/kg (8)
Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazoleh 10–20 mg/kg (6–12) 10–20 mg/kg (6–12)
Vancomycini 60 mg/kg (6) 30–60 mg/kg (8–12)
Voriconazole 16 mg/kg (12) j,k,l 8 mg/kg (12)j,k
a
Need to monitor peak and trough serum concentrations.
b
Not approved in pediatrics. Dose is based on trials registered with clinical trials.gov (NTC01522105) and (NTC01728376) as follows: 2–6 years, 12 mg/kg (24); 7–11 years, 9 mg/kg (24); and
12–17 years, 7 mg/kg (24).
c
Not to exceed the adult dose.
d
Dose of 5–7.5 mg/kg every 24 hours in patients with Aspergillus infection.
e
No data on optimal dose in patients with bacterial meningitis.
f
Dose of 200 mg orally every 6 hours initially, then 400 mg orally every 12 hours. The newer formulations (ie, intravenous and extended-release tablets) of posaconazole appear to have
improved pharmacokinetic properties, but there are no available data on their use in treatment of fungal infections of the central nervous system.
g
Maximum dosage of 600 mg.
h
Dosage based on trimethoprim component.
i
Maintain serum trough concentrations of 15–20 μg/mL in adult patients who receive intermittent bolus administration. Some clinicians administer vancomycin with a loading dose of
15 mg/kg, followed by a continuous infusion of 60 mg/kg/day.
j
Load with 6 mg/kg intravenous every 12 hours for 2 doses in adults and 9 mg/kg every 12 hours for 2 doses in children aged 2–12 years.
k
Maintain serum trough concentrations of 2–5 μg/mL.
l
Maximum maintenance dose in children of 350 mg every 12 hours.
administration have not been demonstrated in controlled tri- Chemotherapy for the management of neurosurgical patients
als. Intraventricular antimicrobials are not approved by the with postoperative meningitis or external ventricular drain–
US Food and Drug Administration and there is insufficient associated ventriculitis [118]. Reports suggest that intraven-
evidence to recommend their general use. However, intraventricular or intrathecal administration of antimicrobials (eg,
tricular antimicrobial therapy may be considered an option for polymyxin B, colistimethate sodium, gentamicin, and van-
patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningi- comycin) is not associated with severe or irreversible toxic-
tis in which the infection responds poorly to systemic antimi- ity [119]. There are also prospective comparative studies that
crobial therapy alone. A recent systematic review sponsored by demonstrated that antimicrobials intraventricularly adminis-
the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress tered show better pharmacodynamics and similar efficacy and
of Neurological Surgeons also noted insufficient evidence safety compared to intravenous antimicrobial agents [120,
to recommend their use in pediatric shunt infections [117]. 121]. Penicillins and cephalosporins should not be given by
However, they have been recommended by the Neurosurgery the intrathecal route because they have been associated with
Working Party of the British Society for Antimicrobial significant neurotoxicity, especially seizures [116].
In several studies on the pharmacokinetics, safety, and Table 3. Recommended Dosages of Antimicrobial Agents Administered
efficacy of intraventricular administration of antimicrobial by the Intraventricular Route
agents [119, 122–126], CSF sterility and normalization of

Antimicrobial Agent Daily Intraventricular Dose
CSF parameters were achieved sooner with intraventricu-
Amikacin 5–50 mga
lar and intravenous use when compared to intravenous use
Amphotericin B deoxycholateb 0.01–0.5 mg in 2 mL of 5% dextrose in
alone, especially in adults. Combined intravenous and intra- water
ventricular use of vancomycin may improve CSF vancomycin Colistin (formulated as colisti- 10 mg
methate sodium)
concentrations without side effects [127]. However, use of
Daptomycin 2–5 mgc
intraventricular antimicrobial agents was not recommended Gentamicin 1–8 mgd,e,f
in infants based on data in a recent Cochrane review [128]. Polymyxin B 5 mgg
One randomized, controlled clinical trial found a 3-times Quinupristin/dalfopristin 2–5 mg
higher relative risk of mortality when infants with gram-neg- Tobramycin 5–20 mg
ative meningitis were treated with intraventricular gen- Vancomycin 5–20 mge,f,h
tamicin and intravenous antimicrobials when compared to There are no specific data that define the exact dose of intraventricular antimicrobial
agents that should be used in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt and drain infections. Given
intravenous therapy alone. However, one half of the infants the smaller CSF volume in infants (approximately 50 mL) compared to adults (approxi-
mately 125–150 mL), doses in infants should probably be decreased at least 60% or more
in the intraventricular gentamicin group had received only 1

compared to adults.
dose, raising doubts about the exact cause of death, although a
The usual intraventricular dose is 30 mg daily.
it may be related to increased CSF concentrations of inter- b
Not usually necessary but may be needed if removal of the device is too risky or the
patient has not responded to systemic antifungal therapy.
leukin-1β. Antimicrobial agents administered by the intra- c
One study used 10 mg every day for 2 days and then 10 mg every 48 hours. Another
ventricular or intrathecal route should be preservative free. study used 5 mg or 10 mg every 72 hours. Data are based on isolated case reports.
d
Dose is 4–8 mg in adults; 1–2 mg in children.
When administered through a ventricular drain, the drain e
Dosage recommendations in adults based on ventricle size/volume as follows:
should be clamped for 15–60 minutes to allow the antimi- •Slit ventricles: 5 mg vancomycin and 2 mg gentamicin
crobial solution to equilibrate in the CSF before opening •Normal size: 10 mg vancomycin and 3 mg gentamicin
•Enlarged ventricles: 15–20 mg vancomycin and 4–5 mg gentamicin.
the drain [129]. In the setting of a CSF shunt that has not f
Recommendations for frequency of administration based on external ventricular drain
been externalized or replaced with an external drainage sys- output over 24 hours as follows:
tem, at least one group has recommended administration of •<50 mL/24 hours: every third day
•50–100 mL/24 hours: every second day
intrathecal antimicrobial therapy by a separately implanted
•100–150 mL/24 hours: once daily
shunt reservoir to reduce loss of drug down a shunt system •150–200 mL/24 hours: increase the dosage by 5 mg of vancomycin and 1 mg of
that might occur with direct injection into the CSF shunt gentamicin and give once daily
•200–250 mL/24 hours: increase the dosage by 10 mg of vancomycin and 2 mg of
[130]. gentamicin and give once daily.
The doses of antimicrobial agents for intraventricular g
Dose is 2 mg/day in children.
h
Most studies used a 10-mg or 20-mg dose.
use have been determined empirically, with adjustments of
dose and dosing interval based on the ability of the agent to
achieve adequate CSF concentrations (Table 3). It is challeng- and every third day if drainage is <50 mL/day. However, these
ing to determine the correct dosing regimen because the CSF recommendations are based on expert opinion and have not
concentrations obtained for the same intraventricular dose in been validated in clinical studies. Additionally, given that the
pharmacokinetic studies have been highly variable, probably total CSF volume in adults (~125–150 mL) is higher than in
due to the differences among patients in the volume of distri- infants (~50 mL), intraventricular doses in infants should
bution, ventricular size, or variable CSF clearance as a result probably be reduced by 60% or more. Another approach is
of CSF drainage [119, 122–129]. In a consensus guideline, the to base dosing on monitoring of CSF drug concentrations.
British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Working However, very few studies have evaluated CSF therapeutic
Party on Infections in Neurosurgery recommended that the drug monitoring and, given the variable CSF clearance of an
initial dose of an intraventricular antimicrobial be based on antimicrobial agent, it is difficult to determine when to obtain
ventricular volume as estimated by neuroimaging [118]. The CSF to measure peak and trough drug concentrations. A CSF
recommended dose of vancomycin is 5 mg in patients with slit drug concentration obtained 24 hours after administration of
ventricles, 10 mg in patients with normal-sized ventricles, and the first dose can be presumed to be the trough CSF concen-
15–20 mg in patients with enlarged ventricles. Using the same tration. The trough CSF concentration divided by the MIC
rationale, the initial dosing of an aminoglycoside can also be of the agent for the isolated bacterial pathogen is termed the
tailored to ventricular size. The same working party recom- inhibitory quotient, which should exceed 10–20 for consist-
mended that the frequency of dosing be based on the daily ent CSF sterilization [18]. Although not standardized, this
volume of CSF drainage: once-daily dosing if CSF drainage is approach is reasonable for ensuring that adequate CSF con-
>100 mL/day, every other day if the drainage is 50–100 mL/day, centrations of these agents are obtained.

Although there are methodological limitations in published Evidence Summary
studies, intraventricular vancomycin was shown to be safe and The duration of antimicrobial therapy for CSF shunt infections
efficacious in a systematic review in adults [124]. Intraventricular is not completely defined and is dependent on the isolated
aminoglycosides were also shown to be effective [122, 126]. In microorganism, the extent of infection as defined by cultures
one study, there were no relapses when intraventricular gen- obtained after externalization, and occasionally CSF findings.
tamicin was combined with intravenous meropenem in patients There are no controlled trials or studies that compared differ-
with neurosurgical gram-negative bacillary ventriculitis and ent durations of antimicrobial therapy for treatment of health-
meningitis [126]. In another study of treatment of 34 consecutive care-associated ventriculitis and meningitis. In a prospective
CSF shunt infections in 30 children, high-dose intraventricular observational study evaluating 70 patients treated at 10 centers
antimicrobial therapy sterilized CSF cultures in 100% of 26 chil- [141], treatment duration ranged from 4 to 47 days; reinfection
dren who were treated for 3 days or longer [131]. Intravenous occurred in 26% of patients. Individuals who became reinfected
and intraventricular quinupristin/dalfopristin has been used suc- were treated for a mean of 14 days compared to 12.7 days for
cessfully to treat a patient with ventriculostomy-related menin- those who did not experience reinfection. Reinfection rates for
gitis caused by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium [132]. therapy durations ≤10 days, 11–20 days, and ≥21 days were
Teicoplanin, a glycopeptide antimicrobial agent not currently 28.5%, 23.3%, and 27.7%, respectively (data abstracted from fig-
licensed in the United States, was also found to be successful after ure 1 in reference). When divided by duration of therapy after

intraventricular administration in 7 patients with staphylococcal the CSF was noted to be free of infection by negative culture,
neurosurgical shunt infections [133]. Intraventricular daptomy- those treated for 7 days or less had a 20% reinfection rate com-
cin was successfully used in individual case reports in patients pared to a 28% reinfection rate for those treated for longer than
with CSF shunt and CSF drain infections caused by methicil- 7 days. It should be noted, however, that treatment for patients
lin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci and resistant ente- in this study was not standardized, with different surgical strat-
rococci [134–137]. Intraventricular colistin (usually formulated egies used for shunt removal and replacement, as well as anti-
as colistimethate sodium) and polymyxin B have been used in microbial choices. A second large cohort study of 675 patients
the treatment of gram-negative ventriculitis and meningitis [109, followed after first infection noted a mean duration of therapy
116, 119, 138–140]; however, these agents should be reserved for of 7.5 days in 15% of those who experienced reinfection com-
patients with infections caused by multidrug-resistant gram-neg- pared to 9 days of treatment in those who did not experience
ative bacteria or in those who failed therapy with standard intra- reinfection (differences not significant) [142].
venous agents. Intraventricular amphotericin B deoxycholate
may be required for Candida shunt infections that fail to respond IX. What is the Role of Catheter Removal in Patients with
to parenteral therapy and shunt removal. Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts or Drains?
Recommendations
VIII. What is the Optimal Duration of Antimicrobial Therapy 62. Complete removal of an infected CSF shunt and replace-
in Patients with Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and ment with an external ventricular drain combined with
Meningitis? intravenous antimicrobial therapy is recommended in
Recommendations
patients with infected CSF shunts (strong, moderate).
58. Infections caused by a coagulase-negative staphylococcus 63. Removal of an infected CSF drain is recommended (strong,
or P. acnes with no or minimal CSF pleocytosis, normal moderate).
CSF glucose, and few clinical symptoms or systemic fea- 64. Removal of an infected intrathecal infusion pump is rec-
tures should be treated for 10 days (strong, low). ommended (strong, moderate).
59. Infections caused by a coagulase-negative staphylococcus 65. Removal of infected hardware in patients with deep brain
or P. acnes with significant CSF pleocytosis, CSF hypoglyc- stimulation infections is recommended (strong, moderate).
orrhachia, or clinical symptoms or systemic features should
be treated for 10–14 days (strong, low). Evidence Summary
60. Infections caused by S. aureus or gram-negative bacilli with Surgical options for the management of CSF shunt infection
or without significant CSF pleocytosis, CSF hypoglycor- include no surgical management (ie, antimicrobial therapy
rhachia, or clinical symptoms or systemic features should alone), removal of the device and performance of an alternative
be treated for 10–14 days (strong, low); some experts sug- nonhardware-based procedure for hydrocephalus treatment
gest treatment of infection caused by gram-negative bacilli (when the patient’s anatomy allows), removal of the device with
for 21 days (weak, low). immediate replacement, and partial or complete device removal
61. In patients with repeatedly positive CSF cultures on appro- with a period of external drainage followed by subsequent CSF
priate antimicrobial therapy, treatment should be continued shunt insertion [38, 39, 46, 143]. In children with noncommu-
for 10–14 days after the last positive culture (strong, low). nicating hydrocephalus and persistent infection, shunt removal
and an endoscopic third ventriculostomy have been advocated cultures become negative, the ventricular drain is removed
[144]. Even if the endoscopic third ventriculostomy fails, the and a new shunt can be inserted (see Question X for spe-
ventriculoperitoneal shunt inserted after failure appears to have cific recommendations on timing of shunt reimplantation).
better longevity than if it is inserted without first performing However, even with this approach, treatment failures still
the ventriculostomy [145]. occur in 10%–20% of cases [141, 146, 147, 150, 151]. It is not
Management of shunt infection without removal of shunt clear from existing studies whether all or just the externalized
hardware has been attempted periodically since shunts were portion of the shunt should be removed, although logically,
first introduced. In early attempts, intravenous and/or intra- one would expect that complete removal, if possible, would
ventricular antimicrobial agents were used without sur- be the better approach. Another option is shunt removal with
gery to avoid the morbidity of additional operations and delayed replacement (to treat the infection with antimicro-
to maintain CSF diversion during treatment. Success with bial therapy in the absence of any shunt hardware), although
this approach, however, was low (34%–36%) and carried a this approach leaves the reason for the initial shunt placement
high mortality rate [146, 147]. Additionally, instillation of untreated.
antimicrobial agents into CSF often required a lengthy hos- In patients with intrathecal infusion pumps that deliver
pitalization, and the frequency of adverse outcomes was baclofen, removal was required in all patients with deep-seated
unacceptably high. The ability of many of the organisms infections [27]. Treatment of deep brain stimulation–associ-

to adhere to prostheses and survive antimicrobial therapy ated infections requires surgical removal of the infected com-
likely precluded optimal treatment in situ. However, in one ponents, with follow-up targeted antimicrobial therapy for 2–6
observational study that readdressed the potential for non- weeks [29, 30].
operative management using a combination of systemic and
intraventricular antimicrobial agents (instilled via a separate X. How are Patients Monitored for Response to Treatment?
Recommendations
ventricular access device), 84% of 43 patients were cured.
There was a 92% success rate for infections caused by bac- 66. Patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and men-
teria other than S. aureus [130], suggesting that conserva- ingitis should be monitored for response to treatment
tive management may be appropriate for selected patients based on clinical parameters (strong, low).
with CSF shunt infections caused by less virulent organisms 67. In patients with healthcare-associated ventriculitis and
such as coagulase-negative staphylococci. Similar results meningitis and an external drainage device, monitoring of
have been achieved in patients with CSF shunt infections CSF cultures is recommended to ensure that they become
caused by P. acnes [14]. However, it must be noted that in the negative (strong, low).
only randomized study to include a nonoperative approach 68. In patients with no definitive clinical improvement, addi-
to management of infected CSF shunts in 30 children, all tional CSF analysis is recommended to ensure that the CSF
of whom received antimicrobial therapy [148], no shunt parameters have improved and the cultures become nega-
removal was associated with a 70% recurrence rate. tive (strong, low).
Combining the removal of shunt hardware with immediate 69. For external CSF drains not being used in the treatment
shunt replacement and intravenous and/or intrathecal antimi- of CSF shunt infection, daily CSF cultures and analysis
crobial therapy was also assessed in the above-mentioned ran- are not recommended unless clinically indicated (strong,
domized trial and a subsequent nonrandomized cohort study low).
[148, 149]. This strategy cured approximately 90% of patients.
However, other studies found that this approach cured only Evidence Summary
approximately 65%–75% of patients with shunt infections [146, There is no evidence that monitoring of inflammatory mark-
147], with failure and reinfection rates still quite significant with ers (ie, peripheral white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedi-
this approach. mentation rate, or C-reactive protein) is useful in monitoring
The most commonly practiced approach to the surgical response to therapy. In patients with healthcare-associated ven-
treatment of a CSF shunt infection is systemic antimicrobial triculitis and meningitis, monitoring of CSF cultures should be
use with removal of some or all components of the infected performed; typically, cultures should be negative for several
shunt followed by insertion of a ventricular drain [141, 150]. days before a new shunt is placed. A retrospective study among
The presence of a drainage catheter allows for monitoring of pediatric patients examined whether routine CSF bacteriolog-
CSF parameters (as needed), including cultures, and admin- ical cultures in patients with external ventricular drains could
istration of intraventricular antimicrobial therapy, if neces- identify ventriculitis [45]. In all patients in whom infections
sary. Ventricular drainage also allows continued treatment developed, routine daily cultures of CSF were performed, and
of the underlying hydrocephalus and avoids the complica- these cultures failed to identify the infections before clinical
tions associated with only shunt removal. Once the drainage symptoms developed. All 7 patients with infection had fever

(>38.5°C) and peripheral leukocytosis (>11 000/mm3) on the not extend antimicrobial therapy beyond the time of shunt
day the infection was identified, and 1 had a change in CSF reimplantation.
appearance. A prospective study also demonstrated no value of In patients with shunt infection caused by coagulase-nega-
routine analysis of CSF for prediction and diagnosis of exter- tive staphylococci and with normal CSF findings, the presence
nal drain–related bacterial meningitis [56]. Another study of negative CSF cultures for 48 hours after externalization gen-
assessed whether the incidence of ventriculitis changed when erally confirms that removal of the hardware affected a cure
CSF sampling frequency was reduced to once every 3 days and that the patient can have a new shunt placed on the third
[152]. In that study, a prospective sample of external ventricu- day after removal. If the coagulase-negative staphylococcus was
lar drain–treated patients was compared to a historical com- isolated in association with CSF abnormalities (eg, CSF pleocy-
parison group at 2 tertiary hospital intensive care units. The tosis, abnormal chemistries), a true infection was likely present.
incidence of ventriculitis decreased from 17% to 11% overall If repeat cultures are negative, 7 days of antimicrobial therapy
and, in those with proven ventriculitis, from 10% to 3% once are usually recommended before shunt placement. However, if
sampling frequency was reduced. repeat cultures are positive, antimicrobial treatment is contin-
ued until CSF cultures remain negative for 7–10 consecutive
XI. In Patients with Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts who Develop days before a new shunt is placed. This approach is also recom-
Ventriculitis and Meningitis, When can a New Shunt be mended for infection caused by P. acnes [131]. For shunt infec-

Reimplanted? tions caused by S. aureus or gram-negative bacilli, 10 days of
Recommendations
antimicrobial therapy with negative cultures are recommended
70. In patients with infection caused by coagulase-negative before shunt placement [18, 153], although some authorities
staphylococci or P. acnes, with no associated CSF abnor- would consider a 21-day course of therapy when gram-neg-
malities and with negative CSF cultures for 48 hours after ative bacilli are isolated. Some experts also suggest a 3-day
externalization, a new shunt should be reimplanted as soon period off antimicrobial therapy in order to verify clearing of
as the third day after removal (strong, low). the infection before shunt reimplantation; this observation
71. In patients with infection caused by a coagulase-negative period is optional and not routinely recommended. However,
staphylococcus or P. acnes, with associated CSF abnormali- these recommendations have not been rigorously studied, and
ties but negative repeat CSF cultures, a new shunt should be some patients may require a longer duration of antimicrobial
reimplanted after 7 days of antimicrobial therapy (strong, therapy before a new CSF shunt is placed. Furthermore, sig-
low); if repeat cultures are positive, antimicrobial treatment nificant variations have been observed in the duration of anti-
is recommended until CSF cultures remain negative for microbial therapy in patients with CSF shunt infections [141,
7–10 consecutive days before a new shunt is placed (strong, 150]. Careful follow-up after reimplantation is also critical to
low). ensure that the patient has been cured. Regardless of the man-
72. In patients with infection caused by S. aureus or gram-neg- ner of treatment, CSF shunt infection can recur. In one study
ative bacilli, a new shunt should be reimplanted 10 days [141], the recurrence rate was 26%, with two-thirds of cases
after CSF cultures are negative (strong, low). caused by the same microorganism. The recurrence rate in
73. A period off antimicrobial therapy is not recommended to patients with S. epidermidis shunt infection was 29%.
verify clearing of the infection before shunt reimplantation In a recent study in children, risk factors identified for rein-
(strong, low). fection were those with complex shunts (multiple shunts placed
or any single shunt with multiple catheters together), an atrial
Evidence Summary shunt, any complication after the first infection (ie, shunt mal-
Once the infected CSF shunt has been removed, the optimal function, hemorrhage, CSF leak), or intermittent negative
timing of shunt reimplantation is unclear. Early placement cultures defined as positive CSF cultures clearing and then
may increase the risk of relapse, but a delay in reimplantation returning over the course of treatment [142].
may increase the risk of secondary infection of the external
ventricular drain. The timing of reimplantation should be XII. What is the Best Approach to Prevent Infection in Patients
individualized based on the isolated organism, severity of Who are Receiving Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts?
Recommendations
ventriculitis, and improvement of CSF parameters and CSF
sterilization in response to antimicrobial therapy. The total 74. Periprocedural prophylactic antimicrobial administration
duration of antimicrobial therapy (see Question VIII) is diffi- is recommended for patients undergoing CSF shunt or
cult to separate from the timing of shunt reimplantation. Some drain insertion (strong, moderate).
authorities extend antimicrobial therapy for several days after 75. Periprocedural prophylactic antimicrobial administration
shunt reimplantation, whereas others decide on total duration is recommended for patients undergoing placement of
of therapy based on obtaining negative CSF cultures and do external ventricular drains (strong, moderate).
76. Prolonged antimicrobial prophylaxis for the duration of studies did not show a difference [20, 47, 160–162, 168], with
the external ventricular drain is of uncertain benefit and the caveat that they were underpowered for an event rate of
not recommended (strong, moderate). 1%–10%. A recent large review of 35 studies published from
77. Use of antimicrobial-impregnated CSF shunts and CSF 1972 to 2013 noted that about half of these studies describe the
drains is recommended (strong, moderate). use of periprocedural antimicrobial therapy [21], but did not
78. In patients with external ventricular drains, fixed interval assess the efficacy of this practice. Some studies also showed
exchange is not recommended (strong, moderate). that use of prophylactic antimicrobials resulted in develop-
79. Use of a standardized protocol for insertion of CSF shunts ment of ventriculitis due to resistant organisms [162, 167]. In
and drains is recommended (strong, moderate). one study, patients in the prophylactic antimicrobial arm devel-
oped ventriculitis caused by MRSA and Candida spp. [163].
Evidence Summary In another study, rates of gram-negative ventriculitis were
There have been numerous studies on specific surgical tech- higher in patients who received prophylactic antibiotics [160].
niques to minimize the possibility of infection in patients However, conflicting reports have been published. In a Brazilian
undergoing CSF shunt placement; however, there are signifi- prospective study [169], prophylactic antimicrobials were used
cant methodological limitations to these studies. Much of what in 75% of the patients, and there was no significant difference
is recommended is based on described risk factors for shunt in ventriculitis when compared to those who did not receive

infection. In one prospective, randomized controlled study of antimicrobials. Another study from the Netherlands also did
61 patients undergoing 84 shunt procedures, the shunt infec- not show a difference in percentage of patients who developed
tion rate was reduced in those who received antimicrobial-im- ventriculitis [170]. The limitations of these studies were that
pregnated sutures (4.3% vs 21%; P = .038) [154], although there most of them were retrospective, underpowered, used differ-
was a high rate of infection in the control group. There is some ent definitions for ventriculitis, and did not all report adverse
evidence that double gloving may decrease CSF shunt infection effects (eg, adverse reactions to antimicrobials and infections
rates [155], and good surgical techniques [156] and adherence with resistant organisms).
to infection control measures are important. There appears to
be relatively strong evidence for the use of prophylactic anti- Prolonged Prophylactic Systemic Antimicrobials for External CSF Drains
microbial therapy prior to shunt insertion surgery, although Although the use of periprocedural prophylactic antimicrobial
the clinical trials supporting this recommendation generally agents for placement of external ventricular drains is gener-
predate the use of antimicrobial-impregnated catheters. The ally accepted, the use of prophylactic prolonged systemic anti-
latter have been less well studied to date but appear promising. microbials for the duration of external CSF drainage is more
Studied interventions are detailed in the following sections. controversial. One study noted that the infection rate was 3.8%
in those who received prophylactic antimicrobials for the dura-
Antimicrobial Prophylaxis tion of external ventricular drain placement and 4.0% for those
Evidence supports the use of periprocedural prophylactic who received only periprocedural antimicrobial therapy [160].
antimicrobial administration for patients undergoing CSF This suggests that prophylactic antimicrobial agents through-
shunt insertion and placement of external ventricular drains. out drainage did not significantly decrease the rate of ventricu-
Although no randomized studies of periprocedural prophy- litis and might select for emergence of resistant organisms. In
lactic antimicrobial agents for CSF shunt placement have contrast, another study demonstrated the benefit of prophy-
been adequately powered to clearly establish efficacy, several lactic antimicrobial agents (2.6% CSF infection rate vs 10.6%
metaanalyses have concluded that this approach decreases in those who only received periprocedural antimicrobials; P =
infection rates by approximately 50% [157, 158]. A Cochrane .001) [163]. It is important to note that the infections in those
database review indicated that the odds ratio for decreased who received prophylactic antimicrobials were caused by more
infection was 0.52 (95% CI, 0.36–0.74) [159]. The antimicrobial drug-resistant virulent pathogens and that the mortality rate
agent should be given before incision to achieve adequate tissue was higher (66% vs 41%). In a pooled estimate of 9 studies, the
concentrations and should be continued for as long as 24 hours CSF infection rate was 8.1% in those who received periproce-
postoperatively, as studies included in these analyses generally dural antimicrobials and 5.3% in those who received antimicro-
administered therapy for this duration. bial therapy for the duration of external drainage [20, 168]. This
With respect to CSF drain infection prevention, one review led to a recommendation to maintain prophylactic antimicro-
[20] that cited 10 studies addressed the use of prophylactic anti- bial therapy in all patients while the external ventricular drain is
microbials [47, 68, 160–167]. One study with 102 ventriculos- in place, although this is not the practice in all clinical facilities.
tomies in 70 patients [165] included 44 patients who received One randomized study that compared placebo to trimethop-
antimicrobials and 26 who did not. This study showed a rim-sulfamethoxazole did not show a significant difference in
decrease in ventriculitis rates from 27% to 9%. Eight subsequent the rate of ventriculitis between the 2 groups [171]. A second

randomized study that compared periprocedural antimicrobi- 12 studies that compared antimicrobial-impregnated to non-
als only (intravenous ampicillin/sulbactam) to prolonged anti- antimicrobial-impregnated ventriculoperitoneal shunts, there
microbials (ampicillin/sulbactam and aztreonam) revealed that was a statistically significant decrease in infections in patients
the patients who received prolonged ampicillin/sulbactam and who had received antimicrobial-impregnated shunts (risk ratio,
aztreonam had a significantly lower rate of ventriculitis (3 of 0.37; P < .0001) [179]. In another systematic literature review of
115, 3%) than those who received only periprocedural ampicil- 5613 shunt procedures, use of antimicrobial-impregnated shunt
lin/sulbactam (12 of 113, 11%; P < .05) [163]. The limitations catheters was associated with a decreased risk of shunt infection
of this study were that it did not provide a clear definition of (3.3% vs 7.2%; P < .00001) [180], with significant differences
ventriculitis and the duration that the external ventricular drain in both children and adults. Use did not appear to be associ-
remained in place was not specified for both groups. Another ated with emergence of antimicrobial-resistant infections. Use
important finding in this study was that infections caused by of antimicrobial-impregnated shunts has not only reduced the
resistant organisms such as MRSA and Candida species were incidence of CSF shunt infections but also has resulted in sig-
higher in the prolonged antimicrobial arm. The mortality rate nificant hospital cost savings [181]. In a study that compared
in the prolonged antimicrobial arm was 66% (2 of 3) when the effectiveness of antimicrobial-impregnated shunt catheters
compared to the periprocedural antimicrobial arm, which had in treatment of 12 589 consecutive cases from 287 hospital sys-
a 41% mortality rate (5 of 12). tems in adult and pediatric patients with hydrocephalus [182],

In a systematic review that pooled data from 2 randomized antimicrobial-impregnated catheter use was associated with a
studies and 4 observational studies [172], there was a reduced significant reduction in infection in both adult (2.2% vs 3.6%;
relative risk of 0.45 with use of prophylactic prolonged systemic P = .02) and pediatric (2.6% vs 7.1%; P < .01) patients. Reduced
antimicrobials, although there were significant methodological infection was demonstrated regardless of hospital size, annual
limitations and heterogeneity in the pooled studies. The defi- shunt volume, hospital location, or patient risk factors.
nitions of ventriculitis were variable, the type and dose of anti- Similar results have been noted in patients who received
microbials were different, adverse effects were not well studied, antimicrobial-impregnated external ventricular drains. A ran-
and most of the studies were retrospective and prone to bias. In domized study of 306 patients who had placement of external
light of these findings and based on the availability of an effi- ventricular drains impregnated with minocycline and rifampin
cacious alternative (ie, antimicrobial-impregnated catheters; showed a decrease in the CSF infection rate from 9.4% to 1.3%
see below), the use of prophylactic prolonged systemic anti- compared to those who received uncoated external ventricular
microbials for prevention of infection in patients with external drains [183]. The mean duration of external ventricular drain
ventricular drains is not recommended, although prolonged placement in both arms was similar. However, 95% of partic-
use does remain the practice in some centers. In a recent study ipants in both arms also received prolonged prophylactic anti-
in patients with antimicrobial-impregnated external ventricu- microbials; the antimicrobials were not specified. Pooled data
lar drains who also received prolonged systemic antimicrobial from 5 studies in one metaanalysis showed a statistically signifi-
therapy, the addition of prolonged systemic therapy did not cant benefit for antimicrobial-impregnated external ventricular
reduce the incidence of catheter-related ventriculitis but was drains (risk ratio, 0.31; P = .009) [179].
associated with a higher rate of nosocomial infections (blood- Sonabend et al [172] conducted a systematic review of
stream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia) and studies that used antimicrobial-impregnated external ven-
increased cost [173]. tricular drains. One randomized, controlled trial [183] and 3
cohort studies [184–186] that assessed the efficacy of antimi-
Antimicrobial-Impregnated Catheters crobial-coated external ventricular drains for ventriculitis pre-
Antimicrobial-impregnated catheters for CSF shunts and drains vention were included in the metaanalysis. A pooled analysis
have been under development for several decades and, more of these studies showed a relative risk of 0.19 (95% CI, 0.07–
recently, have been introduced into clinical practice. They are 0.52) with antimicrobial-coated external ventricular drains.
typically impregnated with either minocycline or clindamy- Ventriculitis developed in 2 patients (1.3%) in the interven-
cin, combined with rifampin. In one randomized study that tion group and in 13 patients (9.6%) treated with the standard
included 110 patients who underwent placement of CSF shunts uncoated external ventricular drains (P = .0012). The organism
impregnated with clindamycin and rifampin, there was a trend most commonly isolated from CSF samples of control patients
toward a decrease in infection rate from 16.6% to 6% (P = .084) was coagulase-negative staphylococcus, whereas CSF cultures
[174]. However, the study was hampered by a small number of from patients in the treated group grew E. faecalis, S. aureus,
patients and a high infection rate in the control group. Other and Enterobacter aerogenes. The study did not provide a clear
noncontrolled studies in patients with CSF shunts have led to definition of colonization or contamination rates vs a definite
mixed results, some supporting [175, 176] and others disputing infection. In another study that compared 47 children treated
[177, 178] these findings. In a metaanalysis of pooled data from with a clindamycin and rifampin–coated external ventricular
drain to 44 children who were treated with a standard exter- may also be valuable in development of standardized protocols
nal ventricular drain [186], CSF cultures were positive in 14 of for CSF shunt insertion. The Hydrocephalus Clinical Research
44 control patients (31.8%) and in only 1 of 47 patients (2.1%) Network recently undertook an initiative in which centers
treated with a coated catheter, demonstrating a statistically sig- agreed to develop an 11-step protocol in an effort to reduce
nificant decrease in ventriculitis with the use of an antimicro- CSF shunt infection rates. This was a collaboration of pediatric
bial-coated catheter (P < .05). In another study that compared neurosurgical centers and included all children who received
prolonged antimicrobial prophylaxis (ampicillin/sulbactam and shunts or revisions [192]. The initiative involved 21 surgeons
ceftriaxone) to antimicrobial-coated external ventricular drains and included 1571 procedures in 1004 children. Overall pro-
with clindamycin and rifampin [187], the interim data analysis tocol compliance was about 75%, and another 20% followed
demonstrated that no ventriculitis occurred in either group. 10 of the 11 steps. The network infection rate decreased from
Allergic or systemic complications directly related to the 8.8% prior to the protocol to 5.7% while using the protocol
antimicrobial agents in antimicrobial-impregnated catheters (P = .0028; relative risk reduction, 36%), indicating that use of a
have been rare. When used for CSF shunt insertions, antimi- standardized protocol and reduction in variation by adherence
crobial-impregnated catheters have not been associated with an to a common protocol are effective at reducing CSF shunt infec-
increased risk of late CSF shunt infections when compared to tion rates. Only proper hand-washing technique by all team
historic controls [188]. members emerged as an independent predictor of decreased

infection rates. Factors associated with increased infection were
Elective Fixed Interval Revision use of BioGlide catheters and use of antiseptic cream by any
The greatest risk related to the external ventricular drain is that member of the surgical team. However, the nature of the study
of secondary infection [20]. A longer duration of drain place- precluded identification of individual items of the bundle with
ment appears to increase the risk. Three studies have shown certainty. Identification of other factors that are associated with
that the risk of infection does increase with catheter duration infection may lead to addition of new interventions to the pro-
[47, 56, 166]. This was also confirmed in another review that tocol in order to further reduce infection rates in the future.
demonstrated that longer duration of external ventricular CSF In patients with external ventricular drains, adherence to a
drain placement increased the risk of infection [189], although checklist for insertion that included hand hygiene, appropriate
the risk may plateau over time. Prophylactic catheter exchange skin preparation with povidone iodine, allowance of the skin
has been advocated to reduce this risk. However, prophylactic preparation to completely dry before insertion, use of all 5
catheter exchange performed every 5 days does not significantly maximal sterile barriers (sterile gloves, sterile gown, cap, mask,
decrease the likelihood of CSF infection [190, 191]. In one study and large sterile drape), and adherence to the policy for exter-
in 103 patients who required external ventricular drains for nal ventricular drain maintenance led to a decline in infection
more than 5 days [191], the CSF infection rate was 7.8% for the rates from 16 per 1000 external drain catheter days to 4.5 per
group that underwent catheter exchange every 5 days and 3.8% 1000 catheter days [193]. This infection rate further decreased
for the no-change group (P = .5). This suggests that a single to 1.3 per 1000 catheter days. Initiation of this protocol eventu-
external ventricular drain can be used for as long as clinically ally resulted in no infections over a 25-month period. However,
indicated unless a change is necessary because of CSF infection this study, as with many similar nonrandomized comparisons
or catheter malfunction. In addition, no significant difference of care protocols, begins with an awareness of a recent increase
was found in intensive care unit stay, ward stay, or clinical out- in infection rates, making some of the achieved improvement
come between the 2 groups. possibly due to regression of the mean.
Thus, in addition to use of antimicrobial-impregnated cath-
eters, the infection risk can be lowered by prompt removal of XIII. Is there a Role for Prophylactic Antimicrobial Therapy
the external ventricular drain when no longer needed, but not in Patients Undergoing Neurosurgery or in those with
with prophylactic catheter exchange at a set interval. While not Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak?
Recommendations
clearly demonstrated in the medical literature but by extrap-
olating from studies with other indwelling catheters, it seems 80. For neurosurgical patients, perioperative antimicrobial
likely that attention to maintaining a sterile, closed system with agents are recommended to prevent infections of the inci-
avoidance of injections into the system and surveillance of the sion (strong, high).
draining CSF will also minimize the likelihood of infection. 81. In patients with basilar skull fractures and a CSF leak,
prophylactic antimicrobial agents are not recommended
Combined Interventions (strong, moderate).
Many of the studies on prevention of CSF shunt infections 82. In patients with basilar skull fractures and a prolonged CSF
detailed above examined single interventions to determine leakage (>7 days), an attempt to repair the leak is recom-
effects on infection rates. However, use of “practice bundles” mended (strong, low).

83. In patients with basilar skull fractures and a CSF leak, pneu- Notes
mococcal vaccination is recommended (strong, moderate). Acknowledgments. The expert panel expresses its gratitude for
thoughtful reviews of an earlier version by Drs Naomi O’Grady, Richard
Whitley, William E. Whitehead, and Ram Yogev. The panel thanks Vita
Evidence Summary Washington for her guidance and preparation of the manuscript.
While perioperative antimicrobial agents have been shown to Financial support. Support for these guidelines was provided by the
decrease the risk of cranial wound infections [194–197], they IDSA.
Potential conflicts of interest. The following is a reflection of what has
have not been shown to decrease the risk of post-craniotomy
been reported to the IDSA regarding potential conflicts of interest (COI).
meningitis [194, 195] or of meningitis after placement of a CSF In order to provide thorough transparency, the IDSA requires full disclo-
shunt [198]. For prophylaxis against cranial wound infections, sure of all relationships, regardless of relevancy to the guideline topic. Such
the first dose of antimicrobials should be given within 1 hour of relationships as potential conflicts of interest are determined by a review
process that includes assessment by the SPGC chair, the SPGC liaison to
surgery and should be discontinued within 24 hours after surgery the development panel, and the BOD liaison to the SPGC, and, if neces-
[199]. sary, the COI Task Force of the Board. This assessment of disclosed rela-
Patients with traumatic injuries that result in a basilar skull tionships for possible COI is based on the relative weight of the financial
relationship (ie, monetary amount) and the relevance of the relationship
fracture or CSF leak deserve special consideration. The over- (ie, the degree to which an association might reasonably be interpreted
all infection rate of meningitis has been reported to be 1.4% by an independent observer as related to the topic or recommendation of
[200]. However, in those who have depressed cranial fractures consideration). The reader should be mindful of this when the list of dis-

closures is reviewed. A. T. received royalties from UpToDate and Elsevier
(up to 6% of patient with head injuries) [201], the infection
and honoraria from ACP and Merck. A. B. received research support from
rate is as high as 10.6% [202]. In a review of 51 patients with Cubist. R. H. has received personal fees for speaker bureau participation
post-traumatic CSF leaks that did not resolve in 24 hours, the with Pfizer, Medicine’s Company and Biofire; he has served as a consultant
risk of meningitis was decreased from 21% to 10% with the for Biomeriaux. S. K. served as a consultant for Pfizer; received royalties
from UpToDate and Elsevier; and received research grants from Pfizer,
use of prophylactic agents [203]. However, in another study of Forest Laboratories, Cubist, and Merck. W. M. S. received research grants
patients with traumatic pneumocephalus, the administration from the National Institutes of Health, Pfizer, and Wyeth. D. v. d. B received
of ceftriaxone did not appear to decrease the risk of bacterial research grants from the Netherlands Organization for Health Research
and Development, Netherlands Scientific Organization, European Research
meningitis [204]. A Cochrane systematic review evaluated 208 Council, FP-7, Horizon 2020, and Omeros and served as a consultant for
participants from 4 randomized studies who were considered GSK. All other authors: No reported conflicts. All authors have submitted
suitable for inclusion in the metaanalysis [205]. There were the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts
that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been
no significant differences between antimicrobial prophylaxis
disclosed.
groups and control groups in terms of reduction of the fre-
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e46 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

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e48 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

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e50 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

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Microorganism Standard Therapy Alternative Therapies

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Abbreviation: MIC, minimal inhibitory concentration.

e52 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

Total Daily Dose (Dosing Interval in Hours)

Antimicrobial Agent Infants and Children Adults

Amikacina 22.5 mg/kg (8) 15 mg/kg (8)

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agents [119, 122–126], CSF sterility and normalization of

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e54 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

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e56 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

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e58 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

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e60 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

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e62 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

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e64 • CID 2017:64 (15 March) • Tunkel et al

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