Postoperative meningitis in patients hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit: a retrospective study

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Postoperative meningitis is a rare neurosurgical complication considered to be associated with loss of meningeal integrity due to neurosurgery with or without CSF drainage catheters. Despite its low incidence, serious complications occur.

Aim: Investigation and analysis of cases of postoperative meningitis admitted to the ICU (predisposing factors, microbial causes, treatment and outcome)

Material and Methods: A retrospective study was performed in 2016 at «Georgios Gennimatas» Genaral Hospital of Athens. The study population included 23 patients over 18 years of age who had undergone neurosurgery. Special recording forms were used for data collection and the data were taken from patients' files. The statistical analysis of the data was performed with the program Statistical Package for the Social Sciences ver.25. Values p <0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: Of the 23 patients studied, 9 experienced post-surgery meningitis (39.1%). Comparing the 9 meningitis patients with the 14 who didn’t develop the complication there was a statistically significant difference concerning the urgency of the surgical procedure and the involvement of external CSF catheters. In addition, patients with post neuro-surgery meningitis had a statistically significant increase in the length of stay in ICU when compared with those post-neurosurgery patients who did not develop central nervous system infection.

Conclusions: Meningitis in the post-neurosurgery patients hospitalized in ICU constitutes a serious complication related to the presence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) external catheters. Postoperative meningitis increases ICU length of stay.

Keywords: postoperative menigitis, nosocomial meningitis, nosocomial infection