Chloramphenicol inhibits protein synthesis in bacteria and is usually bacteriostatic but is bactericidal against Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Neisseria meningitis. Chloramphenicol penetrates all body tissues well. The cerebrospinal fluid concentration averages 60% of the serum level, while brain levels are 9 times higher because of high lipid solubility of this drug. Ch...

OBJECTIVE Lyme meningitis is difficult to differentiate from other causes of aseptic meningitis in Lyme disease-endemic regions. Parenteral antibiotics are indicated for Lyme meningitis but not viral causes of aseptic meningitis. A clinical prediction model was developed to distinguish Lyme meningitis from other causes of aseptic meningitis. Our objective was to prospectively validate this mode...

OBJECTIVES Meningitis is an important disease among the patients being visited in Emergency Departments (EDs). There are many signs to diagnose it with different sensitivity and specificity reported in previously done studies. Current study tries to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of "Jolt accentuation" in the diagnosis (Dx.) of meningitis in patients with fever and headache. MATERIALS AND METHO...

The bacterial antigen test (BAT) screens cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or other body fluids for antigens of classic bacterial meningitis pathogens (i.e., Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b [Hib], group B Streptococcus species, Neisseria meningitidis, and Escherichia coli K1) (7). The utility of the BAT has been questioned in several published reports (2, 5, 6, 8, 12, 15). Furth...

While enteroviruses have been the most commonly identified cause of aseptic meningitis in the United States, the role of the emerging, neurotropic West Nile virus (WNV) is not clear. In summer 2001, an aseptic meningitis epidemic occurring in an area of a WNV epizootic in Baltimore, Maryland, was investigated to determine the relative contributions of WNV and enteroviruses. A total of 113 asept...

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is caused by tuberculosis infection of of the meninges, which are the membrane systems that encircle the brain, with a high morbidity and mortality rate. It is challenging to diagnose TBM among other types of meningitis, such as viral meningitis, bacterial meningitis and cryptococcal meningitis. We aimed to identify metabolites that are differentially expressed betw...

The purpose of the present study was to compare the incidence of childhood meningitis in regions with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants (rural regions) and regions with more than 2,000 inhabitants (urban regions) in the prefecture of Achaia in Western Greece during 1991-2005. Included were all 555 children hospitalized for meningitis. The criteria for bacterial meningitis were (i) positive blood/cer...

INTRODUCTION The objective of this study was to determine the ability of various parameters commonly used for the diagnosis of acute meningitis to differentiate between bacterial and viral meningitis, in adult patients with a negative direct cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination. METHODS This was a prospective study, started in 1997, including all patients admitted to the emergency unit with ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the rate of bacterial meningitis among febrile infants in the emergency department (ED) who have pyuria detected in an initial catheterized urine specimen. METHODS This retrospective chart review, conducted at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ont., involved all children aged 0 to 3 months who presented to the ED with fever and pyuria (>/=10 white blood cells/mm(...