OBJECTIVE To define the clinical and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) criteria that establishes a diagnosis of sepsis and meningitis immediately on admission. METHODS One thousand children, aged one day to 13 years, presenting with acute onset of vomiting, fever, convulsion, and diarrhea to the Pediatrics Department, King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from January 1...

Brain abscess formation as a sequelae of community-acquired pneumococcal meningitis is extremely rare, accounting for less than 1% of all meningitis complications. Although metastatic seeding from a distal peripheral septic focus has been observed, this phenomenon most commonly occurs in the context of ear, nose and throat infections, post-cranial neurosurgical procedures, traumatic open crania...

Neisseria meningitidis is responsible for two major diseases: cerebrospinal meningitis and/or septicemia. The latter can lead to a purpura fulminans, an often-fatal condition owing to the associated septic shock. These two clinical aspects of the meningococcal infection are consequences of a tight interaction of meningococci with host endothelial cells. This interaction, mediated by the type IV...

Few data are available on the clinical characteristics of complications and morbidities after neonatal bloodstream infections (BSIs), understood as any newly infectious focus or organ dysfunction directly related to BSIs but not occur concurrently. However, these bloodstream-associated infectious complications (BSICs) contribute significantly to increased hospital stay, cost, and final mortalit...

BACKGROUND Several countries consider the implementation of a meningococcal serogroup B vaccine for young children and/or serogroup C or ACWY conjugate vaccine for adolescents. Representative information on clinical course of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is useful to evaluate cost-effectiveness of vaccination. Information on the relation between infecting meningococcal clonal complex (C...

Streptococcus bovis is a nonenterococcal, group D streptococcus which has been identified as a causative agent for serious human infections, including endocarditis, bacteremia, and septic arthritis. Several cases of adult S. bovis meningitis have been reported, usually in association with underlying disease. In the neonatal period, it is an uncommon agent of meningitis. We report, to our knowle...

Levels of C-reactive protein and lactate were determined on 562 consecutive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from adult patients with a wide variety of central nervous system diseases to compare the sensitivity and specificity of CSF lactate and C-reactive protein for the rapid diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. Neither test alone, together, or in combination with elevated CSF leukocyte count ...

BACKGROUND Pediatric meningitis remains a common cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Knowledge of the causative organisms in a region is of importance in guiding empiric antibiotic regimes and immunization schedules assisting decisions on primary health-care interventions. METHODS This retrospective review of 557 meningitis cases represents a third pediatric su...

Pasteurella species are immobile, non-sporeless, gram-negative coccobacilli that can be found in the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal flora of pets cause various infections with cat-dog bites. While it usually causes cellulitis abscesses, clinical pictures such as septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, pneumonia, endocarditis, sepsis meningitis also seen immunosuppressed patients. Here, a case ...

A septic meningitis refers to a nonbacterial inflammation of the leptomeninges.1 Viruses are the most common cause of aseptic meningitis, and the most common viruses that cause aseptic meningitis are enteroviruses. Drug-induced aseptic meningitis is rare but probably more common than the literature would suggest; therefore, it should be included in the differential diagnosis of aseptic meningit...