ABSTRACT
The most widely used VP shunt for the treatment of hydrocephalus is Pudenz shunt but the cost is expensive. The Neurosurgery Unit of Seinagarind hospital had used silastic shunt instead of Pudenz shunt for many years. The objectives of this study were to compare infection rates between pudnz shunt and silastic shunt, to study the demographic and clinical data and to identify risk factors of VP shunt infection. Two hundred and six VP shunt procedures performed in 147 children during the period of 5 years and 4 months were retrospectively reviewed. The infection rate was 7.8%. The most common organisms were gram negative rods (37.5%). The most common sign of shunt infection was fever. The majority of patients were infected within 2 weeks postoperatively (87.5%). No statistically significant relationships have been found between infection rate and 1) age, 2) type of shunt,3) etiology of hydrocephalus, 4) shunt revision, 5) ventriculostomy prior to VP shunt insertion, 6) antibiotic prophylaxis , and 7) duration of operation. Usage of silastic shunt and Pudenz shunt resulted in similar infection rat (8.6% VS 0.0%). Taking into the account the infection rate only, silastic shunt could be used instead of Pudenz shunt.