Frequency of infection associated with ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement
Kumar, R.; Younus, S.M.; Haseeb, A.; Bilal, M.; Zeeshan, Q.M.; Ashraf, J.
JPMA. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association 66(7): 815-818
2016
ISSN/ISBN: 0030-9982 PMID: 27427128 Document Number: 687252
To compare the frequency of infection in protocol-based and random ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement in patients with hydrocephalus. The prospective, observational study was conducted at Civil Hospital, Karachi, from October 2014 to March 2015, and comprised patients having ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement who were randomly categorised into Group A that had protocol-based procedure and Group B that had random shunt placement. All patients were followed up for six months to record final outcomes after surgery. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to document findings. SPSS 16 was used for data analysis. Of the 210 patients, there were 105(50%) each in the two groups, overall having 117(55.7%) boys and 93(44.3%) girls. The frequency of infection was 8(7.6%) in Group A and 19(18.1%) in Group B (p<0.05). With a meticulous surgical technique and modifications to the pre-, intra-, and postoperative care, it is possible to significantly reduce the incidence of shunt infection.