Ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection due to Serratia marcescens

Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic Gram-negative bacillus that is most often associated with infections of the respiratory tract, urinary tract, wounds, and bloodstream. Infections of the central nervous system (CNS) with this pathogen are exceedingly infrequent. Even more rare is the association of S. marcescens with infections of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts. To the best of our knowledge, we describe in this report not only the first case of a VP shunt infection by S. marcescens in an adult, but also the first case of a VP shunt infection by this organism in the absence of bowel perforation.