Incidence, risk factors, and microbial spectrum of external ventricular drain-related infections among adult neurocritical care patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Publication/Presentation Date
9-5-2026
Abstract
External ventricular drains (EVDs) monitor and manage increased intracranial pressure (ICP) in neurosurgical patients. EVD-related infection (ERI) is a serious complication linked to significant morbidity and mortality. This review aims to determine the overall incidence of ERI, identify key risk factors, compare the effectiveness of different EVD types, and analyze causative organisms. A comprehensive literature search was performed on public databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar) from inception to 15 July 2025. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) tool and Cochrane tool (RoB-2) were used to assess the quality of included studies. A random-effects model was applied for all meta-analyses. The overall incidence of ERI was 8.6% (95% CI 7.2-10.3,
First Page
17511437261481748
Last Page
17511437261481748
ISSN
1751-1437
Published In/Presented At
Khoshnoodi, M., Zameni, N., Karamian, A., Villahermosa, A. J., Lajeunesse, B. A., Lucke-Wold, B., Harrop, J. S., & Seifi, A. (2026). Incidence, risk factors, and microbial spectrum of external ventricular drain-related infections among adult neurocritical care patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the Intensive Care Society, 17511437261481748. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/17511437261481748
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
PubMedID
42707548
Department(s)
Administration and Leadership
Document Type
Article