Bacterial Adhesion to Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts

Abstract

Bacterial adherence to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts was analyzed in vivo and in vitro. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM’s) of catheters removed from pediatric patients with shunts infected by Staphylococcus aureus or Klebsiella pneumoniae revealed numerous bacterial cells and microcolonies, leukocytes, and erythrocytes attached to the CSF catheters’ inner walls, as well as the existence of surface irregularities, such as fissures, rugosities, and holes. Permeability analyses and SEM’s demonstrated that catheters develop physical alterations over the period of implantation. Different bacterial strains presented a different in vitro adherence to CSF shunts, suggesting that this attachment may be affected by specific properties of the outer structures of each strain.