Haemophilus influenzae infections of cerebrospinal fluid shunts. Report of two cases.

Two (1%) of 165 episodes of Haemophilus influenzae infection of the central nervous system occurred in patients with cerebrospinal fluid shunts. Both cases were caused by strains that could not yet be typed. The clinical presentation was similar to that of other forms of shunt infection, yet the pathogenesis may be similar to that of H. influenzae meningitis in children without shunts. Systemic antibiotic therapy, without shunt replacement or intraventricular antibiotic administration, may be more successful in shunt infections caused by H. influenzae than in those caused by other organisms.