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

The diagnosis on the exclusion of infectious diseases of the central nervous system, especially of bacterial infections still is one of the most important issues in clinical microbiology. In bacterial meningitis, where lethal courses as well as severe sequelae are still frequent, there should be a rapid diagnosis not only with microscopy but also with Limulus test and antigen detection tests because a specific therapy should be initiated as soon as possible. But also viral infections caused by varicella or herpes virus are increasingly susceptible to chemotherapy. The indication for the examination of cerebrospinal fluid, the minimal volume for exhaustive laboratory tests and the possibilities of a stepwise diagnostic procedure are given with reference data from literature for the various techniques. In our experience the synopsis of laboratory results and clinical symptoms yielded in 75% of all cases the exclusion of an infectious etiology of the disease. In 17% a bacterial meningitis or the infection of a hydrocephalus shunt could be diagnosed. Viral infections could be proven in 4% either by antibody or by antigen detection. Only in 1% of all patients the clinical symptoms and the laboratory parameters remained unclear.
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PMID:[Microbiologic-immunologic laboratory diagnosis in suspected meningitis/encephalitis]. 331 73

Viral meningitis is part of the aseptic meningitis syndrome but must be distinguished from bacterial meningitis on the basis of a careful examination of the CSF and sound clinical judgment. Enteroviruses probably account for the bulk of cases of aseptic meningitis that occur in the United States and which are reported to the Centers for Disease Control each year. The seasonal pattern in the incidence of aseptic meningitis is largely due to the seasonal variation of enteroviral infections. Early on, the CSF in patients with viral meningitis frequently contains a predominance of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and may even have a low glucose level. The presence of neutrophils in the initial CSF sample is especially common in patients with enteroviral infections. A CSF glucose level lower than 50 per cent of a simultaneously drawn blood glucose determination is not uncommon in patients with viral meningitis due to mumps, LCM, and herpes simplex. In a patient with a predominance of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the initial CSF specimen and in whom a viral infection is suspected, antibiotics may be withheld if a spinal tap is repeated within 12 hours. A shift from polymorphonuclear leukocytes to mononuclear cells makes viral meningitis the likely diagnosis. Both herpes simplex and varicella-zoster may infect the meninges by means of spread from cervical and dorsal root ganglia in a retrograde fashion much the way they spread in an antegrade fashion to the skin. HSV-2 is more likely to cause the clinical syndrome of viral meningitis, while HSV-1 is more likely to cause a meningoencephalitis with serious brain dysfunction. The identification of a specific viral agent in body fluids, especially the CSF, in a patient with aseptic meningitis is of more than academic interest, since it can shorten duration of hospital stay and eliminate unnecessary antimicrobial therapy. The diagnosis of enteroviral infections depends upon the isolation of a virus from CSF, stool, or throat plus a fourfold antibody response in the serum to the viral isolate. The 60-odd serotypes of enterovirus, each with different antigenic determinants, preclude serologic testing alone as a useful diagnostic test to identify the patient infected with coxsackievirus or echovirus. For infections, due to herpes simplex, varicella-zoster, LCM, and arboviruses, a serologic test alone can be useful.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Viral meningitis. 399 Apr 41

A survey was performed of acute encephalitis and bacterial meningitis in infancy and childhood from 1984 to 1993 using a questionnaire directed to departments of pediatrics in large hospitals in Aichi prefecture. The case records for 391 patients with acute encephalitis including related diseases and 328 patients with bacterial meningitis were obtained from 63 hospitals. Of 391 patients with acute encephalitis, 224 were male and 167 were female. Of 328 patients with bacterial meningitis, 200 were male and 128 were female. Sex ratio were 1.3, 1.6 respectively. Of the patients, 52.4% of encephalitis and 84.8% of meningitis were under 4 years of age and 0 year olds made up 53.7% of the latter. The causes of these diseases were confirmed in 38.7% and 82.9% of the encephalitis and meningitis patients, respectively, etiologically. In encephalitis, rubella virus was the most frequent with 29 cases, followed by measles virus (27 cases), herpes simplex virus (24) and varicella-zostervirus (19). In meningitis H. influenzae (95 cases), S. pneumoniae (56), Group B streptococcus (41) and E. coli (27) were frequently diagnosed. These diseases showed respective patterns of age distribution and clinical course, and moreover, the increases in their onset were clearly related to the prevalence of causal infections. Therefore, the results of this study should be utilized in the development of administrative measures for prevention of these diseases.
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PMID:[Acute encephalitis and bacterial meningitis in children in Aichi Prefecture (1984-1993)]. 764 51

The levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were analyzed in 139 patients with meningitis and in 20 control subjects. Elevated concentrations were observed in 42 (82%) of 51 patients with purulent bacterial meningitis (18/24 Haemophilus influenzae, 13/14 Streptococcus pneumoniae, 7/7 Neisseria meningitidis, and 4/6 with other purulent bacterial etiology). In contrast, elevated levels were found in only 5 of 78 individuals with nonbacterial meningitis (2/8 with herpes simplex type 2, 3/3 with varicella-zoster virus). Thus, the positive and negative predictive values were 0.89 for indicating a purulent bacterial meningitis. Raised CSF TNF alpha levels were observed in 7 of 8 patients with purulent bacterial meningitis in whom the routinely used parameters did not unequivocally indicate the diagnosis. Moderately increased levels were seen in 5 of 6 patients with Mycobacterium tuberculosis meningitis and in 1 of 4 cases of Borrelia burgdorferi. Thus, the present study indicates that concentrations of TNF alpha in CSF usually can discriminate between purulent bacterial and nonbacterial meningitis. These findings may contribute diagnostic guidance with routinely used CSF parameters.
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with meningitis of different etiologies: high levels of TNF alpha indicate bacterial meningitis. 845 Feb 54

Epidemiologic trends causing infections of the nervous system remain a significant source of morbidity and mortality one half-century after the introduction of penicillin. This article outlines common causes of bacterial meningitis, aseptic meningitis syndrome, encephalitis, abscess, spinal cord syndromes, and cranial and peripheral nerve problems. Recommendations for diagnostic evaluation and both empiric and definitive antimicrobial therapy are offered; controversial management issues are also discussed. The protean manifestations of varicella-zoster virus and Lyme diseases are outlined. In addition, special considerations in the immunocompromised host, including organ transplant recipients, cancer patients, and HIV-positive persons are explained, and antimicrobial therapy is discussed.
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PMID:Infections of the nervous system. 953 69

Laboratory techniques for the diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) infections are rapidly improving but at present have limitations that necessitate our guarded enthusiasm. Enteroviruses are the most common infectious agents of viral meningitis for which an etiology can be determined, and it is anticipated that the use of the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique should significantly improve the identification of the etiologic agent of aseptic meningitis. The combination of the polymerase chain reaction technique with laboratory methods for the determination of intrathecal antibody production to herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus have improved the rapidity with which these viral infections can be diagnosed. The pearls and pitfalls of the use of these laboratory techniques in the diagnosis of viral meningitis, recurrent meningitis, and focal encephalitis are included. Recommendations for the empiric therapy of bacterial meningitis in children and adults have changed because of the emergence of penicillin and cephalosporin-resistant pneumococcal organisms. The currently recommended antibiotics and their dosages are included. The evidence for the efficacy of dexamethasone therapy in bacterial meningitis is provided. Meningitis due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis is increasingly recognized, and the initiation of empiric antituberculous chemotherapy should not await the results of CSF cultures. Toxoplasma encephalitis and primary CNS lymphoma are the most common cause of mass lesions in patients with HIV, and the diagnostic techniques to distinguish between these two infections is reviewed. A short discussion of the best test for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis is provided.
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PMID:Pearls and pitfalls in the diagnosis and management of central nervous system infectious diseases. 960 16

The role of infectious and inflammatory causes of stroke is much more significant in children than in adults. Conversely, that of atherosclerotic disease, ischaemic heart disease and hypertensive haemorrhages has a lesser prominence in children. Bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, or Neiserria meningitidis has been known to cause stroke in children. The mechanism appears to be the spread of meningeal inflammation to involve the walls of intracranial vessels, resulting in arterial thrombosis with ischaemia or rupture with haemorrhage. Other infections caused by atypical bacterial agents such as Mycoplasma tuberculosis and viral agents such as varicella-zoster virus have also been well documented as causes of stroke. Non-infectious, inflammatory causes of stroke, such as collagen vascular disease and primary angiitis of the central nervous system, have been reported in children as well as adults. In this review, we will focus on recent advances in the field of childhood stroke caused by infectious and inflammatory disorders.
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PMID:Infectious and inflammatory disorders of the circulatory system and stroke in childhood. 1192 29

Acute cerebellar ataxia is a relatively common neurologic disorder among children. Our aim was to characterize the clinical picture, etiology, and prognosis of acute cerebellar ataxia. The medical records of all children with a diagnosis of acute cerebellar ataxia hospitalized in our center and Hasharon Medical Center from 1990 to 2001 were reviewed. The diagnosis of acute cerebellar ataxia was based on the following criteria: acute onset of ataxia with or without nystagmus; absence of known genetic predisposing factors, such as familial degenerative disorders; and absence of drug intoxication, bacterial meningitis, and metabolic disorders. Thirty-nine children were identified; 54% were male; mean age at presentation was 4.8 +/- 3.8 years. All patients were observed for at least 1 year. A prodromal febrile illness was noted in 74.4%: varicella, 31%; mumps, 20%; nonspecific viral infection, 15.4%; mycoplasma, 5%; Epstein Barr virus, 3%. Latency from the prodromal illness to the onset of ataxia was 8.8 +/- 7.4 days. The most common associated neurologic findings were nystagmus and dysmetria. Full gait recovery took less than 2 weeks on average, and the longest duration of neurologic signs was 24 days (mumps-related). Acute cerebellar ataxia in childhood is a self-limited disease. The recovery was faster than that reported in previous publications and was complete in all children without any neurologic sequelae. Imaging studies are needed only in atypical presentation or if there is no spontaneous improvement after 1 to 2 weeks.
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PMID:Post-infectious acute cerebellar ataxia in children. 1455 15

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequencies of opportunistic diseases among AIDS patients at the Jeanne Ebori Foundation (JEF) in Libreville, Gabon. A total 6313 file of patients treated in the internal medicine unit between 1994 and 1998 were analyzed. Findings showed that the main diseases related to AIDS classified according to seroprevalence were as follows: purigo (100%), cerebral toxoplasmosis (100%), oral candidiaisis (88%), bacteremia (87.8%), shingles (84.6%), minor salmonelosis (72%), and tuberclosis. The main diagnoses unrelated to AIDS at the JEF according to seroprevalene were typhoid (9.4%), common pneumonia (28%), bacterial meningitis (26.3%, hepatitis B (20.0%), and malaria (14%). In addition to these diseases there were nine cases of Kaposi's sarcoma, four cases of isosporosis, two cases of cryptococcosis, two cases of herpes Varicella, one case of cryptosporidiosis, and one case of isosporosis. The incidence of opportunistic disease was high in our study and must be taken in drug procurement.
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PMID:[Opportunistic diseases in HIV-infected patients at the Jeanne Ebori Foundation in Libreville, Gabon]. 1677 41

Meningitis and/or encephalitis can pose a serious public health problem especially during outbreaks. A rapid and accurate diagnosis is important for effective earlier treatment. This study aimed to identify the possible microbial causes of meningitis and/or encephalitis cases. CSF and serum samples were collected from 322 patients who had signs and symptoms suggestive of meningitis and/or encephalitis. Out of 250 cases with confirmed clinical diagnosis, 83 (33.2%) were definitely diagnosed as bacterial meningitis and/or encephalitis cases (by using CSF culture, biochemical tests, latex agglutination test, and CSF stain), 17 (6.8%) were definitely diagnosed as having viral causes ( by viral isolation on tissue culture, PCR and ELISA), and one (0.4%) was diagnosed as fungal meningitis case (by India ink stain, culture, and biochemical tests). Also, there was one encephalitis case with positive serum ELISA IgM antibodies against Sandfly scilian virus. N. meningitidis, S. pneumonia and M. tuberculosis were the most frequently detected bacterial agents, while Enteroviruses, herpes simplex viruses and varicella zoster viruses were the most common viral agents encountered. Further studies are needed to assess the role of different microbial agents in CNS infections and their effective methods of diagnosis.
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PMID:Microbial study of meningitis and encephalitis cases. 1821 22


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