• Quang N Ngo, Adrianna Ranger, Ram N Singh, Alik Kornecki, Jamie A Seabrook, and Douglas D Fraser.
• Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Ontario, ON, Canada.
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2009 May 1; 10 (3): 346-51.

ObjectiveTo determine the indications and complications of external ventricular drain (EVD) placement in pediatric patients.DesignRetrospective chart review.SettingUniversity associated, tertiary-level Children's Hospital.PatientsSixty-six [median age, 10.1 years (interquartile range, 5.9)] patients between 1994 and 2006 with 96 EVDs.Measurements And ResultsClinical indications for EVD insertion include traumatic brain injury (TBI; 36%), acute hydrocephalus (35%), and ventriculoperitoneal shunt failure (29%). Of the 96 EVDs, 65% were inserted at the bedside in the pediatric critical care unit (PCCU) and 33% in the operating room (OR). Median duration of EVD insertion was 7.0 days (interquartile range, 8.8). Complications occurred with 26% of EVD insertions and included infection (9.4%), misplacement (6.3%), hemorrhage (4.2%), obstruction (3.1%), and malfunction (3.1%). The primary infectious etiology was coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (67% of infections). Despite patients with TBI having significantly smaller lateral ventricles than hydrocephalus patients (p < 0.05), EVD complications were similar (risk ratios 1.41; 95% confidence interval 0.68-2.72). Furthermore, the complication rate was the same for EVDs inserted in either the PCCU or OR (risk ratios 1.10; 95% confidence interval 0.55-2.29).ConclusionEVDs were placed for TBI, ventriculoperitoneal shunt failure and new-onset hydrocephalus. The overall complication rate was 26%. Complication rates were similar in TBI and hydrocephalus patients, and with EVDs inserted in either the PCCU or OR. Prophylactic antibiotics or antimicrobial-impregnated catheters directed against coagulase-negative Staphylococcus may reduce EVD infections.

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