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

Spinal epidural abscesses (SEA) are uncommon in children. This paper reported a two-year-old boy who was noted to have neck stiffness, with local tenderness posteriorly. Bacterial meningitis was suspected initially in terms of the finding of the cerebral spinal fluid; antibiotics were prescribed. Three days later another spinal tap was performed because of persistent high fever and irritability. A pus-like material drained out as the needle punctured into the spinal region. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan of the spine revealed a SEA, with extensive involvement from the second cervical spine to the lumbosacral spine region. Culture of the pus, as well as the blood and CSF, were positive for Staphylococcus aureus. Because of extensive involvement of the spinal epidural space, the patient was again given antibiotics: Prostaphllin and Amikin intravenously for six weeks instead of laminectomy. Then the oral antibiotic (Keflex) was given to the patient for another three months after the boy was discharged from the hospital. A review of the literature shows the incidence of SEA to be increasing and the bacterial spectra to be broadening because of increasing use of immunosuppressing drugs or antibiotics, and the increase in numbers of immunecompromised patient. The clinical symptoms and signs of the SEA were non-specific, but SEA can be early diagnosed by computurized tomography (CT) scan or MRI scan with caution. The literature suggests that, if the patient's condition fits the criteria for non-surgical treatment, antibiotic therapy is the first choice for preventing the complication of spinal deformity, especially in children.
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PMID:[Non-surgical treatment of spinal epidural abscesses: report of one case]. 177 63

Mortality and long-term neurologic sequelae are still frequent complications of meningitis despite effective antibiotic treatment. This suggests that pathogen-independent inflammatory mechanisms may play an important role in the course of this illness. Neutrophil granulocytes form the primary immune defense in meningitis. Once activated, these cells release elastase into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Elastase may induce tissue damage if local antiproteinase capacity is low as under normal conditions. To define the relevance of this mechanism we studied 22 patients with meningitis. Concentrations of elastase in complex with the main antiproteinase alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (elastase-alpha 1 PI), alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1PI), and elastase inhibition capacity (EIC) were measured in CSF of 9 patients with bacterial meningitis (BM), aged 1 month-14 years; 13 patients with non-bacterial meningitis (NBM), aged 1 month-15 years; and 20 patients in whom meningitis was excluded after spinal tap (control group), aged 6 months-15 years. The concentration of elastase-alpha 1PI in the BM group (median 552 micrograms/l) was significantly higher than in either the NBM group (median 30 micrograms/l, p less than 0.01) or the control group (median 30 micrograms/l, p less than 0.01). Similarly, the alpha 1PI-concentration in the BM group was significantly higher (median 113 mg/l) than either the NBM group (median 13.7 mg/l, p less than 0.025) or the control group (median 6.3 mg/l, p less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Proteinase-antiproteinase imbalance in meningitis: determination of alpha 1 proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1PI), elastase-alpha 1PI complex, and elastase inhibition capacity in cerebrospinal fluid. 208 19

In a retrospective study of 78 cases of adult meningitis, the CSF lactate was measured on the first spinal tap (ST); 25 had a bacterial meningitis, 28 a viral meningitis; 22 other cases had been on antibiotics prior to admission; 3 cases had meningitis of rare aetiology. The median CSF lactate level among the 25 bacterial cases amounted to 13.6 mmol/l (range: 3.5-24.5) whereas it remained low in the 28 viral cases: 2.7 mmol/l (range: 1.4-4.2). These differences are highly significant. The comparison of the CSF lactate level with the other tests routinely performed showed that the CSF lactate level had the highest sensitivity, specificity and predictive values. The CSF lactate level on the first ST had no prognostic value, but a rapid decrease of the CSF lactate during the treatment is indicative of good prognosis. Among the pretreated cases, a high lactate level could be an indication that bacteria were the causal agents. In conclusion, the measurement of the CSF lactate, quickly performed and inexpensive, is worth performing when a meningitis is suspected, as it appears to be the best way of distinguishing bacterial from non-bacterial meningitis.
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PMID:Cerebrospinal fluid lactate in 78 cases of adult meningitis. 219 Oct 22

Bacteroides fragilis is an obligated anaerobic bacillus which forms part of the normal intestinal flora of the colon and is often seen as a common pathogen in intraabdominal infections. It is an infrequent pathogen in cases of meningitis; a review of the literature reports only eight cases of this disease in children, especially in neonates with conditioning factors such as abdominal sepsis, chronic middle ear otitis and atrial-ventricular derivations. A case of a newborn baby girl with lumbosacral myelomeningocele is reported. After the defect was surgically corrected, the wound became infected, the stitches opened, the child began to have fever, became irritable and suffered convulsions. The spinal tap showed changes compatible to bacterial meningitis, the bacteria was grown on Shaedler medium. The child was treated with cefotaxime and amikacin showing no satisfactory improvement. Afterwards, a second spinal tap showed Bacteroides fragilis.
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PMID:[Meningitis caused by Bacteroides fragilis in children]. 269 35

Acute bacterial meningitis following epidural anesthesia is a rare event. We describe a case in which a young woman received epidural anesthesia for vaginal delivery. The initial attempt at placement of the epidural resulted in entry into the subarachnoid space. The patient's postpartum course was complicated by persistent headache. She received epidural blood patch on two occasions, but her headache continued and she developed persistent fever. The diagnosis of acute bacterial meningitis was made on postpartum day 3. Contamination of the subarachnoid space may have occurred at the time of the inadvertent spinal tap or via the epidural blood patch. Alternatively, this contamination may have occurred during a spontaneous bacteremic episode, as Streptococcus sanguis is a mouth organism commonly involved in dental caries.
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PMID:Bacterial meningitis following epidural anesthesia for vaginal delivery: a case report. 276 26

Bacterial meningitis in 20 children was treated with cefotaxime. 17 children received this antibiotic throughout the disease as monotherapy, three were changed to Penicillin G (2) or ampicillin (1), after sensitivity of the pathogen was known, although cefotaxime had been effective. All bacterial isolates were highly susceptible to cefotaxime. All CSF cultures were sterile at second tap, performed 24 to 48 hrs after therapy was started. Cefotaxime and desacetyl-cefotaxime concentrations in CSF, measured by HPLC in 9 patients were in the range of 4 to 34 (average 17.6) mg/l and 2.1 to 82 (average: 15.1) mg/l, representing a CSF-serum ratio of 8 to 74% (average 45.6%) for cefotaxime and 25 to 151% (average: 73.7%) for desacetyl-cefotaxime. Clinical outcome was favourable in 17 patients. There were one death and late neurological deficits in three. Cefotaxime monotherapy is recommended instead of standard therapy with chloramphenicol and/or ampicillin because of superior antibacterial activity, lower toxicity and lesser side-effects for primary meningitis in children caused by N. meningitides, S. pneumoniae, or H. influenzae type b.
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PMID:[Cefotaxime monotherapy in bacterial meningitis in childhood]. 379 34

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 new technique for intraventricular application of antibiotics by means of an indwelling catheter is described for the treatment of bacterial meningitis in the newborn. In cases of neonatal gram-negative meningitis with proven ventriculitis resistant to systemic therapy alone, a ventricular tap is performed. Through the needle an indwelling catheter is inserted into the right lateral ventricle. After removal of the needle the remaining catheter is used for obtaining ventricular fluid for diagnostic purposes as well as for direct intraventricular injection of antibiotics. This catheter can easily be inserted while the child is in the incubator in a neonatal intensive care unit, avoiding neurosurgery. Our present treatment procedure for neonatal meningitis is described.
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PMID:[Technique for intraventricular application of antibiotics in bacterial meningitis of the newborn (author's transl)]. 734 30

Beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m) determination in CSF of 72 neonates who underwent a spinal tap as part of a sepsis or meningo-encephalitis workup was performed to evaluate the usefulness of this test in the diagnosis of CNS infections. Beta 2m was measured by enzyme immunoassay. Sixty neonates had sterile culture and normal neurological status at discharge. Twelve infants had CNS infections: 8 bacterial meningitis, 3 TORCH infections (T = toxoplasmosis, O = others, R = rubella, C = cytomegalovirus and H = herpes simplex) and 1 viral meningitis. Neonates with CNS infection exhibited significantly higher CSF beta 2m levels compared to neonates with sterile culture (6.24 +/- 2.66 vs 1.74 +/- 0.5 mg/l; P < 0.0001). CSF beta 2m levels did not correlate with the white cell count, total protein concentration or glucose level in CSF. When serum and CSF levels were measured simultaneously, the CSF beta 2m level was significantly higher than the corresponding serum level in patients with CNS infection (6.98 +/- 2.5 vs 3.2 +/- 0.25 mg/l; P < 0.01). Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were estimated for different cut-off points. The best operational diagnostic cut-off value was 2.25 mg/l. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed an appropriate trade-off between specificity and sensitivity and indicated that CSF beta 2m was accurate in distinguishing between neonates with and without CNS infection. Conclusion. CSF beta 2m may be a useful ancillary tool in neonates when CNS infection is suspected.
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PMID:Cerebrospinal fluid beta 2-microglobulin in neonates with central nervous system infections. 760 83

A case of a large empty sella was reported, which was intrasellar herniation of the third ventricle associated with a prolactinoma. The patient was a 46-year-old female admitted due to consciousness disturbance with pyrexia and vomiting. She had amenorrhea, galactorrhea and sterility in her past history. On admission, physical and neurological examinations revealed severe dehydration, systemic edema, systemic hypotension, nuchal rigidity, papilloedema and goiter. A spinal tap was performed and revealed an increase in CSF pressure. Laboratory data indicated CSF lymphocytosis, an increase in CSF protein content, high titers of serum microsome test, a low concentration of anterior pituitary hormones in serum except for PRL, and an unusually high concentration of PRL in serum and CSF (4680 and 222ng/ml, respectively). Plain films of the skull showed destructive enlargement of the sella turcica. The patient was diagnosed as having non-bacterial meningitis, chronic thyroiditis and a prolactinoma with hypopituitarism and was then admitted to our department. Except for amenorrhea she was asymptomatic under the administration of levothyroxine, hydrocortisone and bromocriptine. CT scan, MRI, pneumoencephalography and CT cisternography as further examinations disclosed the intrasellar herniation of cisterns and the third ventricle, which were surrounded by an intrasellar parenchymal layer. This layer was thought to be still viable prolactinoma tissue. We supposed the third ventricle entered the enlarged sellar cavity following the spontaneous degeneration of the large prolactinoma. Although we could find some documented reports of similar cases, the complete herniation of the third ventricle secondary to degeneration of an adenoma might be rare.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Empty sella as an intrasellar herniation of the third ventricle secondary to spontaneous degeneration of a prolactinoma]. 813 65


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