The Prognostic Nutritional Index and Mortality in Patients With Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Infection

Sebnem Nergiz; Pinar Aydin Ozturk

doi:10.1177/00099228231209725

The Prognostic Nutritional Index and Mortality in Patients With Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Infection

Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2023 Nov 8:99228231209725. doi: 10.1177/00099228231209725. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sebnem Nergiz¹, Pinar Aydin Ozturk^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ataturk Faculty of Health Sciences, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Diyarbakir Gazi Yasargil Education and Research Hospital, Health Sciences University of Turkey, Diyarbakir, Turkey.

PMID: 37937580
DOI: 10.1177/00099228231209725

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between mortality and the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in the pediatric patient group with ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) infection. A total of 63 pediatric patients with a VPS infection and positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture were retrospectively registered. The CSF specimens were analyzed to conduct culture and microscopic evaluation. A total of 44.4% of the cases were men and 55.6% of the cases were women. Patients were divided into 2 groups (survivor and non-survivor patients). When survivor and non-survivor patients were compared, it was found that CSF leukocytes, CSF glucose, CSF protein, CSF/blood glucose ratio, lymphocyte, albumin, and PNI levels were lower in the non-survivor patients' group. Nevertheless, blood glucose and CRP (C-reactive protein) were significantly higher in the non-survivor patients' group than in the survivor patients' group. In our investigation, we suggested that low PNI was related to high mortality in cases of VPS infection.

Keywords: hydrocephalus; infection; prognostic nutritional index; ventriculoperitoneal shunt.