[External ventricular drainage: a possible method of treating cerebrospinal shunt infections and ventriculitis (author's transl)].

Infectious complications of hydrocephalus shunts are serious problems. A possible method of treating such infections is by external ventricular drainage (EVD). 20 patients - 17 with infected shunts, 3 with neonatal meningitis, ventriculitis and subsequent hydrocephalus - were treated by EVD and the results are presented in this report. The advantages of the procedure are control of the intraventricular pressure to bring it within normal limits and the possibility of intraventricular antibiotic instillation to supplement systemic therapy. Furthermore, the optimal operation time for the definitive shunt can be assessed by EVD once the infection has been overcome.