The Efficacy and Cost of Prophylactic and Periprocedural Antibiotics in Patients with External Ventricular Drains

Abstract

Prophylactic antibiotics did not significantly reduce the rate of ventriculitis in patients with EVDs, and they may select for resistant organisms. Discontinuing the use of prophylactic antibiotics for EVDs at the authors' institution would save approximately $80,000 per year in direct drug costs.