1/34. mortality from peripartum meningitis.A young primigravid parturient had an uneventful labour under epidural analgesia and delivered a healthy male infant. She returned 48 hours later with fever, vomiting and severe headache, but was misdiagnosed as having endometritis. Further signs of meningitis appeared six hours later, however she succumbed to the infection and died four weeks later despite intensive care and high-dose antibiotic management. Causes of meningitis in the peripartum period are discussed. The possibility of a causal association between the patient's epidural analgesia and her infection are considered and preventive measures discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/34. Infection of central nervous system by motile enterococcus: first case report.A 66-year-old man with four indwelling ventriculoperitoneal shunts for multiloculated hydrocephalus from a complicated case of meningitis a year before developed shunt infection based on a syndrome of fever, drowsiness, and cerebrospinal fluid neutrophil pleocytosis in the background of repeated surgical manipulation to relieve successive shunt blockages. The cerebrospinal fluid culture, which yielded a motile enterococcus species, was believed to originate from the gut. This isolate was lost in storage and could not be characterized further. The patient improved with vancomycin and high-dose ampicillin therapy. He relapsed a month later with enterococcus gallinarum shunt infection, which responded to high-dose ampicillin and gentamicin therapy. This is probably the first case report of motile enterococcus infection of the central nervous system.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/34. Group B Streptococcal sacroiliitis: case report and review.streptococcus agalactiae, or group B Streptococcus (GBS), is the major cause of neonatal meningitis and sepsis but is an uncommon infection in adults. GBS arthritis is rare, and axial involvement with sacroiliitis is even more uncommon. Microbiological diagnosis frequently relies upon positive blood cultures as synovial fluid cultures are usually negative. Severe joint damage may result due to delay in the initiation of antibiotic treatment.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/34. Frequent association with neurosurgical conditions in adult proteus mirabilis meningitis: report of five cases.adult Proteus (P.) mirabilis meningitis is relatively rare and has not been examined individually in the English-language literature. During a period of 15 years (January 1986-December 2000), four adult patients with P. mirabilis meningitis and one adult patient with mixed bacterial meningitis involving P. mirabilis were identified at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung. These five patients included one man and four women, aged from 19 to 74 years (mean age=55.4). P. mirabilis infection accounted for 1.7% (4/229) of cases of our culture-proven monomicrobial adult bacterial meningitis and was involved in 7.1% (1/14) of cases of our adult mixed bacterial meningitis during this period. Underlying debilitating conditions including diabetes mellitus and neurosurgical disorders were common in these five cases. adult P. mirabilis meningitis had an acute clinical course, with fever and consciousness-disturbance occurring as most prominent clinical manifestations in all patients. Other common manifestations included hydrocephalus, seizure, septic shock and wound infection. Hematogenous spread would appear to be the most likely mechanism. Multi-antibiotic resistant strains of P. mirabilis were not found in our patients. All strains were susceptible to third-generation cephalosporins, imipenem, aztreonam and ciprofloxacin. The results of treatment for adult P. mirabilis meningitis were not satisfactory, most of the patients surviving with severe neurological deficit.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.8333333333333keywords = meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/34. Intrathecal baclofen withdrawal mimicking sepsis.baclofen (Lioresal) is a drug of choice to treat spasticity and is increasingly being administered intrathecally via an implantable pump in cases refractory to oral therapy. Emergency physicians will likely treat patients with baclofen withdrawal or overdose as this treatment becomes more widespread. The syndrome of baclofen withdrawal presents with altered mental status, fever, tachycardia, hypertension or hypotension, seizures, and rebound spasticity, and may be fatal if not treated appropriately. baclofen withdrawal may mimic other diseases including sepsis, meningitis, autonomic dysreflexia, malignant hyperthermia, or neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Treatment consists of supportive care, reinstitution of baclofen, benzodiazepines, and diagnosis and eventual repair of intrathecal pump and catheter malfunction.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/34. Enteroviruses and sudden deafness.A young, healthy man presented with sudden severe sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. The results of the workup and neuroimaging were normal, as were the auditory brain stem responses. methylprednisolone pulse therapy was associated with significant hearing improvement within 10 days. A history of a short self-limited febrile illness preceding admission (with headache, photophobia, myalgia and fatigue), a raised serum c-reactive protein level and transient leukopenia suggested an infectious cause. Lumbar puncture revealed a mononuclear pleocytosis of the cerebrospinal fluid, with negative cultures but positive polymerase chain reaction test results for enterovirus, which was later cultured from the patient's stool. The patient's wife and baby had had a similar febrile illness without hearing loss 10 days earlier, and an outbreak of enterovirus meningitis was identified in the area, which was associated with familial clustering and echovirus serotype 4 infection. The varied causes of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, which should include enterovirus, are reviewed here.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/34. west nile virus infection presenting as cerebellar ataxia and fever: case report.Evidence of West Nile encephalitis virus infection has been documented in most states of the continental united states within a short period of its first introduction in 1999. health care providers are mostly aware of the usual presentations of this disease, eg, aseptic meningitis, encephalitis and guillain-barre syndrome. We present a patient whose only manifestations were cerebellar ataxia and fever.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.96161680058441keywords = aseptic meningitis, meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/34. Acute human immunodeficiency virus syndrome in an adolescent.Acute human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) seroconversion illness is a difficult diagnosis to make because of its nonspecific and protean manifestations. We present such a case in an adolescent. A 15-year-old boy presented with a 5-day history of fever, sore throat, vomiting, and diarrhea. The patient also reported a nonproductive cough, coryza, and fatigue. The patient's only risk factor for hiv infection was a history of unprotected intercourse with 5 girls. physical examination was significant for fever, exudative tonsillopharyngitis, shotty cervical lymphadenopathy, and palpable purpura on both feet. Laboratory studies demonstrated lymphopenia and mild thrombocytopenia. Hemoglobin, serum creatinine, and urinalysis were normal. The following day, the patient remained febrile. physical examination revealed oral ulcerations, conjunctivitis, and erythematous papules on the thorax; the purpura was unchanged. Serologies for hepatitis b, syphilis, hiv, and Epstein-Barr virus were negative. Bacterial cultures of blood and stool and viral cultures of throat and conjunctiva showed no pathogens. Coagulation profile and liver enzymes were normal. Within 1 week, all symptoms had resolved. The platelet count normalized. Repeat hiv serology was positive, as was hiv dna polymerase chain reaction. Subsequent hiv viral load was 350 000, and the cd4 lymphocyte count was 351/mm3. hiv is the seventh leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 24 in the united states, and up to half of all new infections occur in adolescents. Our patient presented with many of the typical signs and symptoms of acute hiv infection: fever, fatigue, rash, pharyngitis, lymphadenopathy, oral ulcers, emesis, and diarrhea. Other symptoms commonly reported include headache, myalgias, arthralgias, aseptic meningitis, peripheral neuropathy, thrush, weight loss, night sweats, and genital ulcers. Common seroconversion laboratory findings include leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and elevated transaminases. The suspicion of acute hiv illness should prompt virologic and serologic analysis. Initial serology is usually negative. Diagnosis therefore depends on direct detection of the virus, by assay of viral load (hiv rna), dna polymerase chain reaction, or p24 antigen. Both false-positive and false-negative results for these tests have been reported, further complicating early diagnosis. Pediatricians should play an active role in identifying hiv-infected patients. Our case, the first report of acute hiv illness in an adolescent, emphasizes that clinicians should consider acute hiv seroconversion in the appropriate setting. Recognition of acute hiv syndrome is especially important for improving prognosis and limiting transmission. It is imperative that we maintain a high index of suspicion as primary care physicians for adolescents who present with a viral syndrome and appropriate risk factors.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.96161680058441keywords = aseptic meningitis, meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/34. herpes simplex encephalitis: a case report.BACKGROUND: Despite advances in antiviral therapy over the past 2 decades, herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) remains a serious illness with significant risk of morbidity and death. HSE is the most common cause of sporadic viral encephalitis, with a predilection for the temporal lobes and a range of clinical presentations, from aseptic meningitis and fever to a severe rapidly progressive form involving altered consciousness. Clinical features of HSE include fever with mental status changes (depressed level of consciousness, confusion, disorientation, personality changes) sometimes with seizures (focal or generalized), dysphagia, or other focal neurological signs. Symptoms vary in intensity early in the disease, but tend to progress rapidly. CT and MRI can play an important role in determining the diagnosis and extent of the disease. CASE REPORT: This case report refers to a 17-year-old girl, previously diagnosed with herpes encephalitis, and presents the outcome of rehabilitation on the patient's mental state during a 7-year follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis for patients with HSE has been dramatically improved by the availability of specific antiviral therapy; sequelae in surviving patients may include severe neurological deficits, seizures, and/or neuropsychological dysfunctions that greatly impair quality of life. To improve the prognosis for patients with HSE, acyclovir treatment should be initiated as soon as HSE is suspected. After discharge, rehabilitation should be provided, in the effort to improve the patient's self-reliance in everyday life.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.96161680058441keywords = aseptic meningitis, meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/34. cellulitis resulting from infection by haemophilus influenzae type b: report of two cases.cellulitis resulting from infection by haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is uncommon but may be a characteristic of such infection. Especially in the post-Hib vaccine era, such infection represents a potentially life-threatening infectious process due to the relatively high incidence of accompanying bacteremia and meningitis. Here, we report on two apparently previously healthy children who developed Hib cellulitis, one of whom revealed lower-leg cellulitis while the other exhibited buccal cellulitis associated with an oral ulcer. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no formal reports pertaining to buccal cellulitis following infection by Hib yet published in taiwan, and reports of Hib cellulitis of the extremities still appear to be rare, hence we report on these two cases.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = meningitis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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