<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Urgent neurosurgical interventions in pediatric patients with SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) are rare. These cases pose an additional stressor on a potentially vulnerable dysregulated inflammatory response which may put the child at risk for further clinical deterioration. Our aim was to describe the perioperative course of SARS-CoV-2 positive pediatric patients who required an urgent neurosurgical intervention.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>We retrospectively analyzed pediatric patients ≤18 years of age admitted to a quaternary children's hospital with a positive PCR for SARS-CoV-2 virus from March 2020 to October 2021. Clinical characteristics, anesthetic and neurosurgical operative details, surgical outcomes, and non-neurological symptoms were collected and analyzed.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Eight SARS-CoV-2 positive patients were identified with a mean age of 8.83 years (median 8.5 years; range 0.58 -18 years). 6 of the 8 patients were male. All children had mild disease or were asymptomatic with regards to COVID symptoms. The anesthetic and surgical courses for these patients were overall uncomplicated. All patients were admitted to a specialized isolation unit in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for cardiopulmonary and neurologic monitoring. Increased protective personal equipment (PPE) during anesthesia and the operation did not impede a successful neurosurgical operation.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>SARS-CoV-2 positive pediatric patients with minimal COVID-related symptoms who require urgent neurosurgical interventions face unique challenges regarding their anesthetic status, operative delays due to SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing and additional PPE requirements. Despite these clinical challenges, the patients in our study had no adverse post-operative consequences and no healthcare professionals involved contracted the virus.</p>

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Ventricular shunt complications in children can be severe and life-threatening if not identified and treated in a timely manner. Evaluation for shunt obstruction is not without risk, including lifetime cumulative radiation as patients routinely receive computed tomography (CT) scans of the brain and shunt series (multiple radiographs of the skull, neck, chest, and abdomen).</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>A multidisciplinary team collaborated to develop a clinical pathway with the goal of standardizing the evaluation and management of patients with suspected shunt complication. The team implemented a low-dose CT scan, specifically tailored for the detection of hydrocephalus and discouraged routine use of shunt series with single-view radiographs used only when specifically indicated.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>There was a reduction in the average CT effective dose (millisievert) per emergency department (ED) encounter of 50.6% (confidence interval, 46.0-54.9; P ≤ .001) during the intervention period. There was a significant reduction in the number of shunt surveys obtained per ED encounter, from 62.4% to 5.32% (P &lt; .01). There was no significant change in the 72-hour ED revisit rate or CT scan utilization rate after hospital admission. There were no reports of inadequate patient evaluations or serious medical events.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>A new clinical pathway has rapidly reduced radiation exposure, both by reducing the radiation dose of CT scans and eliminating or reducing the number of radiographs obtained in the evaluation of patients with ventricular shunts without compromising clinical care.</p>