Gram-negative bacterial infections following cerebrospinal fluid shunts

In this retrospective cohort study, researchers followed pediatric patients with Gram-negative bacterial infections following cerebrospinal fluid shunt or external ventricular drain. A total of 64 infections in 50 patients were evaluated, of which 70% followed a shunt. The median age of patients was 1.4 years for shunt infections and 4.2 years for drain infections. The Gram-negative bacteria most frequently found also depended on the cause of infection: Pseudomonas, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae in shunt cases; Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp. and E. coli in drain cases. The rate of carbapenem resistance was similar, at around 26%.