The early serological detection of colonisation by Staphylococcus epidermidis of ventriculo-atrial shunts.

Simple quantitative serological tests demonstrating Staphylococcus epidermidis agglutinins and C-reactive protein were used for the early detection of ventriculo-atrial shunt colonization by this organism. Tests in normal children and adults in various age groups throughout life confirmed Bayston's ovservations that those tested attained a titre up to 1:160 TO S. epidermidis agglutinogen. In contrast, the titre in children with colonised shunts and in adults with S. epidermidis endocarditis, both conditions which are usually accompanied by bacteraemia, rose to much higher levels, sometimes up to 1:5120. The routine combination of both tests has proven to be of considerable diagnostic value, particularly in early or recent colonisation.