Central Nervous System Infection in Neurosurgical Critical Care

Abstract

Postoperative central nervous system (CNS) infection is a potential life-threatening complication of neurosurgery. Due to its high morbidity, postoperative CNS infections represent significant economic burden associated with prolonged hospitalizations or readmissions for long-term antibiotic treatment or repeat surgery. Postoperative CNS infections can be categorized as superficial surgical site infections, meningitis, subdural empyema, cerebral or spinal abscesses, or catheter-related infections. Evidence of postoperative CNS infections in neurosurgical patients requires immediate recognition and aggressive, multidisciplinary intervention that includes neurointensive care, neurosurgery, and infectious disease specialists. Finally, increasing use of endovascular neurointerventional therapies should prompt careful observation for the risk of CNS infection associated with these procedures, considering the present absence of data in this area.