title: Antibiotic prophylaxis in ventricular shunt surgery. I. Reduction of operative infection rates with methicillin.
abstract: Administration of prophylactic antibiotics is not a proven or universal practice in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt surgery although case and operative infection rates in hydrocephalic patients average 20 and 8%, respectively. In sequential series from 1969 through 1978 the authors achieved a reduction in case infection rates from 10.9 to 8.9% and in operative infections from 8 to 2.6% with the use of short-term prophylactic methicillin. Comparison of these results to those of other reported series supports the case for short-term prophylactic antibiotics in shunt surgery. Further reduction in shunt sepsis may be possible with the appropriate selection of other semisynthetic penicillins which achieve higher levels in CSF.
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008712:Methicillin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016136:Spina Bifida Occulta / Q000601:surgery; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D008712:Methicillin