title: Frequency of infection associated with ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the frequency of infection in protocol-based and random ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement in patients with hydrocephalus.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Dow University Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Dow University Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Syed Muneeb
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Younus
authors.affiliation: MBBS Students, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haseeb
authors.affiliation: MBBS Students, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bilal
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Dow University Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Qazi Muhammad
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Zeeshan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Junaid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ashraf
mesh_terms: D002985:Clinical Protocols; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000601:surgery*; D007223:Infant; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D008297:Male; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods
keywords: Hydrocephalus, Cerebrospinal fluid, VP shunt placement.