Oxacillin prophylaxis in cerebrospinal fluid shunt procedures: results of a randomized open study in 60 hydrocephalic patients.

A 27-month open randomized trial (October 1981-January 1984) was carried out to study the prophylactic efficacy of antibiotics in 60 hydrocephalic patients being shunted for the first time. The treatment group received oxacillin at a dosage of 200 mg/kg/day by six bolus intravenous injections, beginning with anesthetic induction and continuing for 24 hours after the operations. The minimum postoperative observation was 6 months. Six patients in the control group developed cerebrospinal fluid infections (20%) as compared with only a single patient in the oxacillin group (3.3%); this difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.05). Time of development of cerebrospinal fluid infection was brief (86% at 6 weeks), and as usual staphylococci were the pathogens most frequently implicated. This study would appear to confirm the choice of oxacillin for prevention of meningitis. Nevertheless, the frequency of methicillin-resistant staphylococci, which account for 20% of nosocomial staphylococcal infections, constitutes a limiting factor for such prevention.