Duration of antibiotic therapy for the treatment of shunt infection: a surgeon and patient survey.

The ideal duration of antibiotic treatment for shunt infection remains a major unanswered question in pediatric neurosurgery. To date, no study has objectively determined the best length of treatment, i.e. that which minimizes both the length of hospital stay and the chance of reinfection. This study was undertaken to determine whether an increase in reinfection risk would be tolerated if the duration of therapy were shortened. Sixty-one members of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons (44 responding) and 831 patients or parents of patients with shunts (385 responding) were surveyed using similar questionnaires. Sixty-four percent of neurosurgeons (28/44) and 54% of patients (178/325) responding to the survey would tolerate an increased reinfection risk in order to gain a shorter duration of treatment. These data support the feasibility of a planned randomized study to determine the ideal length of antibiotic treatment for shunt infection. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel