Strahm C, et al. - This study was conducted to ascertain infection rate (IR) and to identify modifiable risk factors (RF) in cranial neurosurgery in a Neurosurgical Department for tertiary referral as part of an infection control surveillance to reduce surgical site infections (SSI). Here, IR was in accordance to recent prospective single-center studies (reported IR between 1.6 and 9%). The strongest modifiable RF was extraventricular drain (EVD) placement for SSI in cranial neurosurgical procedures. Thereby highlighting the necessity for standard infection control procedures for the insertion and maintenance of EVDs to avoid their contamination.