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Query: UMLS:C0085437 (bacterial meningitis)
 4,038 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pituitary adenomata are benign neoplasms which usually grow slowly and present with manifestations relating to an associated endocrinopathy or visual disturbance. Rarely these neoplasms will demonstrate a more aggressive behavior with extracranial extension and symptoms of upper airway obstruction or anosmia. Several reported cases suggest that although these neoplasms behave aggressively the overall survival and prognosis for these patients remains good. We present the clinical and postmortem findings of an occult invasive pituitary adenoma leading to the development of bacterial meningitis, coma and death. This communication stresses the necessity for the early diagnosis and treatment of the invasive adenomata to prevent the development of potentially fatal infectious sequelae.
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PMID:Occult invasive pituitary adenoma predisposing to fatal bacterial meningitis. 218 37

The epidemiology and incidence, etiology, pathogenesis and pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, principles of therapy, and treatment of bacterial meningitis in infants and children are reviewed. Bacterial meningitis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and most cases occur in children less than five years old. Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae are the major pathogens involved. Bacteremia or colonization of the upper-respiratory-tract epithelium often precedes meningitis. Defense mechanisms are poor in the cerebrospinal fluid; once an organism penetrates the blood-brain barrier, infection may follow quickly. Clinical signs and symptoms are somewhat nonspecific, with lethargy, restlessness, and poor feeding prominent; diagnosis often relies on the patient history along with preliminary results of lumbar punctures. Therapy is based on pharmacologic and pharmacodynamic principles concerning the available antimicrobial agents, the blood-brain barrier, and supportive therapy. Effective antimicrobial therapy requires attainment of adequate bactericidal activity in the cerebrospinal fluid; penetration of agents into the brain depends on their physico-chemical characteristics. Antibiotic therapy must generally be started before culture results are available, making empiric therapy based on the child's age, history, and underlying conditions important. Established therapeutic agents include penicillins, aminoglycosides, and chloramphenicol, though newer expanded-spectrum cephalosporins such as cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, and cefotaxime are being used with increasing frequency. However, the use of these newer, more potent antimicrobial agents have not appreciably altered associated morbidity and mortality. Aggressive supportive care and evaluation of newer nonantibiotic treatments should be addressed in future studies of bacterial meningitis in infants and children.
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PMID:Current concepts in clinical therapeutics: bacterial meningitis in infants and children. 353 67

Stress-induced changes in pharmacokinetics can significantly alter the plasma levels of some drugs such as clozapine. This report describes the case of a middle-aged man with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type who showed sustained elevation in clozapine levels 3 days after discontinuation. Before the clozapine levels were drawn, he had developed acute bacterial pneumonia and signs of acute bacterial meningitis followed by neuroleptic malignant syndrome after he received multiple doses of intravenous haloperidol for worsening psychosis and aggressive behavior. Existing literature on this topic is also reviewed to investigate potential reasons for sustained clozapine levels during acute inflammatory stress and neuroleptic malignant syndrome.
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PMID:Relationship Between Clozapine Levels and Acute Inflammatory Stress. 3262 72