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Twelve episodes of meningitis in the same patient!

B P Paudyal1

  • 1Patan Hospital, Lalitpur, Nepal. buddhipaudyal@yahoo.com

Kathmandu University Medical Journal (KUMJ)
|July 8, 2008
PubMed

Insights

This case study presents a patient with 12 episodes of pyogenic meningitis, a rare occurrence. Medical management, including vaccinations and prophylactic penicillin, prevented further bacterial meningitis recurrences.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Neurosurgery

Background:

  • Recurrent bacterial meningitis poses significant life-threatening risks and management challenges.
  • This report details an exceptionally rare case of 12 consecutive pyogenic meningitis episodes.

Observation:

  • The patient's initial event was a childhood head injury without cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak.
  • High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) identified a previously undetected bony dehiscence at the skull base.

Findings:

  • Recurrent meningitis was caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitides.
  • Surgical repair was considered definitive but not performed.

Implications:

  • Medical management, including Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitides vaccinations and prophylactic penicillin, successfully prevented further episodes.
  • This case highlights the importance of advanced imaging in identifying subtle skull base defects contributing to recurrent meningitis.

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