Treatment of staphylococcal ventriculitis associated with external cerebrospinal fluid drains: a prospective randomized trial of intravenous compared with intraventricular vancomycin therapy.

ABSTRACT

OBJECT Staphylococcal ventriculitis may be a complication in temporary external ventricular drains (EVDs). The limited penetration of vancomycin into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is well known; the pharmacodynamics and efficacy of systemically compared with intraventricularly administered vancomycin is examined in this prospective study. METHODS: Ten patients in whom EVDs were implanted to treat intracranial hemorrhage and who were suffering from drain-associated ventriculitis were randomized into two treatment groups. Five of these patients (median age 47 years) were treated with 2 g/day vancomycin administered intravenously (four infusions/day, Group 1), and the other five(median age 49 years) received 10 mg vancomycin intraventricularly once daily (Group 2). Vancomycin levels were measured in serum and CSF six times a day. The maximum vancomycin level in CSF was 1.73 +/- 0.4 micro/ml in Group 1 and 565.58 +/- 168.71 microg/ml 1 hour after vancomycin application in Group 2 (mean +/- standard deviation). Vancomycin levels above the recommended trough level of 5 microg/ml in CSF were never reached in Group 1, whereas in Group 2 they below the trough level (3.74 +/- 0.66 microg/ml) only at 21 hours after intraventricular vancomycin application. The vancomycin level in the serum was constant within therapeutic levels in Group 1, whereas in Group 2 in most instances vancomycin was almost below a measurable concentration. In both groups bacteriologically and laboratory-confirmed CSF clearance could be obtained. CONCLUSIONS: Intraventricular vancomycin application is a safe and efficacious treatment modality in drain-associated ventriculitis, with much higher vancomycin levels being achieved in the ventricular CSF than by intravenous administration.