Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39994029›Full record

ArticleChild's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery2025

Neurosurgical site infections: a retrospective monocentric study of pediatric brain tumor patients.

Giorgia Enrico, Eleonora Fusco, Matteo Palmetti, Federico Mussa, Iacopo Sardi, Elena Chiappini, Luisa Galli, Elisabetta Venturini

Abstract read
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Article in Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Management of pedıatrıc Candıda central nervous system ınfectıons: a retrospectıve analysıs of a challengıng case serıes.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2026
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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Giorgia EnricoPediatric Neuro-Oncology Unit, Meyer Children's Hospital IRCCS, Florence, Italy.
Eleonora FuscoDepartment of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Matteo PalmettiDepartment of Health Sciences, Postgraduate School of Pediatrics, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Federico MussaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Meyer Children's Hospital IRCCS, Florence, Italy.
Iacopo SardiPediatric Neuro-Oncology Unit, Meyer Children's Hospital IRCCS, Florence, Italy.
Elena ChiappiniDepartment of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Luisa GalliDepartment of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. luisa.galli@unifi.it.
Elisabetta VenturiniPaediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, Meyer Children's Hospital IRCCS, Florence, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis retrospective monocentric study aims to describe the characteristics of neurosurgical site infections (n-SSI) in neurooncological pediatric patients. The primary goal was to assess infection rates and identify common pathogens in this population.

methodsWe considered pediatric patients (0-18 years) who underwent neurosurgery for brain tumors at Meyer Children's Hospital in Florence between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021. Children with suspected/confirmed n-SSI were included. Data were retrospectively collected from patients' medical records, and covered tumor and surgery type, presence of foreign bodies, microbiological findings, and treatment. Infections were classified into categories according to literature. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism. A p value of < 0.05 was considered significant.

resultsOf 352 children undergoing neurosurgery, 43 (12.22%) had suspected/confirmed n-SSI, with a confirmed infection rate of 4%. The most frequent n-SSI was postoperative meningitis (37.2%), followed by wound infections (25.6%). A foreign body was present in 74.4% of cases. The most prevalent pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus (40%) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (33%). Lumbar puncture (LP) performed before antibiotics significantly increased pathogen isolation (p = 0.01). Most patients (95.3%) had fever, and 53.5% had CSF leakage. Antibiotic therapy was administered in all cases, and 65.1% required therapy adjustment. No significant correlation was found between foreign body and clinical symptoms or microbiological positivity.

conclusionThe study reveals a high rate of n-SSI, emphasizing the importance of early diagnostic measures like LP to improve microbiological diagnosis and optimize antimicrobial treatment. The most frequent pathogen was S. aureus; however, the absence of methicillin-resistant strains is notable. These findings highlight the role of a multidisciplinary approach in managing n-SSI and the potential for n-SSI to delay adjuvant cancer treatments.

Indexed as

Brain NeoplasmsNeurosurgical ProceduresSurgical Wound InfectionAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleRetrospective StudiesAntibiotic therapyInfectious diseaseNeurooncologyStaphylococcus aureus

Identifiers

PMID39994029
PMCPMC11850419

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.