Objectives Historically VPS failure and infection rates are higher for neonates than for older children. We compared our one year VPS failure and infection rates in under 3-month-olds with those of older children.

Design A retrospective, single centre study comparing 1 year survival and infection rates of VPS in under 3-month-olds verses older children.

Subjects 58 children under 3 months of age underwent VPS insertion between January 2007 and December 2016.

Methods Data was collected by three independent reviewers from electronic files and case notes. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and one year shunt survival curves were produced.

Results For children under 3 months there was a 29.3% one-year shunt failure rate, of which 2 were shunt infections (3.4%). In patients greater than 3 months, the shunt malfunction rate was 23.4% and the infection rate was 4.3%. There were no shunt-related mortalities in either group.

Conclusions Children under 3-months-old undergoing VPS insertion should not automatically expect an increased 1 year failure or infection rate compared with older children. Reasons for this may be increased sub-specialisation, improved neonatal care and use of antibiotic impregnated catheters.