Meningitis etiology

CNS infections include a wide variety of clinical conditions and etiologies meningitis, meningoencephalitis, encephalitis, brain and meningeal abscesses, and shunt infections. The focus of this chapter is meningitis. 

One case of Staphylococcus aureus meningitis, a rare complication of epidural analgesia, has been published. The same patient developed a cauda equina syndrome of uncertain etiology, although neural ischemia as a result of meningitis secondary to immunosuppression was possible (SEDA-21,420 456). A unique case of transient profound paralysis after epidural glucocorticoid injection (acute paraplegia) has now been reported (SEDA-22, 451 457). Diplopia associated with the peridural or intrathecal infiltration of prednisolone have not been previously reported (SEDA-22, 451 458). 

Steroids may be considered as an adjunct therapy for patients with severe edema and for meningitis based on experience with bacterial meningitis of other etiologies... 

Weinstein L. Bacterial meningitis Specific etiologic diagnosis on the basis of distinctive epidemiologic, pathogenetic, and clinical features. Med Clin North Am 1985 69 219-229. 

Future opportunities include rapid detection and identification of bacterial causes of sepsis and meningitis, with the ability in the latter to differentiate viral and fungal etiologies. Universal primers have been described that are conserved in all eubacteria tested and a similar situation exists for fungi and enteroviruses (B3, R6, W8). A coamplification test that combines primers for the three types of agents could prove medically useful in selecting therapy if the result can be obtained in 2 hours. 

Chemotyping of Etiological Agents of Bacterial Meningitis Analysis of... 

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