Ten-year retrospective cohort analysis of ventricular assist device infections.

Background: The number of patients treated by ventricular assist devices (VAD) and the duration of VAD treatment is increasing. One of the main complications in terms of morbidity and mortality for VAD patients are microbial infections. With this study, we aimed to investigate the epidemiology and microbiological characteristics of infections occurring in a VAD population to identify modifiable factors.

Upside-down positioning of a peri-interventional cava filter during endovascular thrombectomy of a septic superior vena cava thrombosis.

A 43-year-old male patient with advanced colon carcinoma presented with disseminated staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and central venous catheter associated septic thrombosis of the superior vena cava. Despite appropriate antimicrobial therapy and surgical debridement of distant foci, bacteremia persisted, so an endovascular thrombectomy was performed. Contrary to the usual application, the Capturex® peri-interventional cava filter was positioned upside down, in the direction of the blood flow, in the superior vena cava to prevent septic embolism during mechanical thrombectomy.

Characteristics and treatment outcome of cerebrospinal fluid shunt-associated infections in adults: a retrospective analysis over an 11-year period.

Background: Data on infections associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts among adults are limited. Therefore, we performed a retrospective study of shunt-associated infections in adults.

Methods: Patients aged > or = 12 years with infections associated with CSF shunts and admitted to our institution(University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland) from January 1996 through December 2006 were included retrospectively.