• Junhyung Kim, Jae Ho Kim, Woosung Lee, Hyun Jin Han, Keun Young Park, Joonho Chung, Yong Bae Kim, Jin Yang Joo, and Sang Kyu Park.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• World Neurosurg. 2022 Apr 1; 160: e40-e48.

ObjectiveRisk factors of ventriculostomy-associated infection (VAI) reported in the literature are variable owing to heterogeneity of external ventricular drainage (EVD) procedures and management. This study aimed to assess the rate of VAI and its risk factors.MethodsThe medical records of patients >18 years old who received EVD catheterizations between January 2015 and December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsAmong 243 patients with 355 catheters, 23 VAIs were identified, yielding VIA rates of 9.5% per patient and 6.5% per catheter. VAI was associated with a longer total EVD duration (29.2 days vs. 15.8 days, P < 0.001), a longer procedural time (72 minutes vs. 41 minutes, P < 0.001), intraoperative ventriculostomy (39.1% vs. 9.1%, P < 0.001), craniotomy (87.0% vs. 60.9%, P = 0.014), and other systemic infections (30.4% vs. 8.2%, P = 0.004). On multivariate analysis, a longer total EVD duration (odds ratio 1.086, P < 0.001), intraoperative ventriculostomy (odds ratio 6.119, P = 0.001), and other systemic infections (odds ratio 4.620, P = 0.015) were associated with VAI. There was no statistical difference between the VAI rates of patients with and without prophylactic EVD exchanges at a mean 12.6 days (7.1% vs. 2.2%, P = 0.401).ConclusionsIntraoperative ventriculostomy was independently associated with VAI. Prophylactic EVD exchange at 12.6 days did not lower VAI rate.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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