Tigecycline therapy in an infant for ventriculoperitoneal shunt meningitis

Shunt infections are seen in 3% to 20% of patients who have cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts. Although the staphylococcal species are the most common cause of shunt-related infections, Gram-negative bacteria are increasingly reported with higher mortality rates. Tigecycline, a glycylcycline, is not approved for children. But in the era of nosocomial infections due to multidrug-resistant pathogens, it can be the life-saving option. We report an infant with ventriculoperitoneal shunt-related meningitis treated with a tigecycline combination regimen. A 5-month-old boy who had a ventriculoperitoneal shunt was admitted with meningitis. Extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae grew in the CSF. At the end of the fourth week of intravenous meropenem plus gentamicin therapy, carbapenem-resistant K pneumoniae grew in the CSF (mean inhibitory concentration value for meropenem >4 μg/mL, by E-test). The infected shunt was removed, and an external ventricular drainage catheter was inserted. With permission, intravenous tigecycline (1.2 mg/kg per dose twice a day) and intrathecal amikacin were added to the meropenem. Intrathecal amikacin could be given for only 7 days. On the sixth day of tigecycline treatment, the CSF was sterilized. Antibiotic therapy was given and consisted of a total of 60 days of meropenem and 20 days of tigecycline therapy. Because no available efficacy and safety data from randomized-controlled studies exist, tigecycline must be used only as salvage therapy, in combination with other drugs, for critically ill children who have no alternative treatment options.