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Extensive Spinal Cord Injury following Staphylococcus aureus Septicemia and Meningitis

Nicolas De Schryver1, Guy Cosnard, Vincent van Pesch

  • 1Intensive Care, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.

Case Reports in Neurology
|July 9, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Staphylococcus aureus meningitis rarely causes spinal cord injury in adults. This case highlights ischemic spinal cord injury from meningitis, leading to fatal brain stem necrosis.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pathology

Background:

  • Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
  • Spinal cord involvement in adult bacterial meningitis is uncommon.
  • Staphylococcus aureus septicemia can lead to severe complications.

Observation:

  • A case of Staphylococcus aureus septicemia complicated by meningitis and extensive spinal cord injury is presented.
  • The patient experienced ascending brain stem necrosis and death.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging revealed intramedullary hyperintensity on T2-weighted images.
  • Multimodality evoked potentials were used for investigation.

Findings:

  • Postmortem examination confirmed extensive spinal cord injury of ischemic origin.
  • The injury was attributed to diffuse leptomeningitis and endarteritis.
  • This indicates a rare but severe neurological complication of bacterial meningitis.

Implications:

  • This case underscores the potential for severe spinal cord complications in bacterial meningitis.
  • Early recognition and management of meningitis complications are crucial.
  • Further research into the mechanisms of spinal cord injury in meningitis may be warranted.
Keywords:
Bacterial meningitisSepticemiaSpinal cord injuryVasculitis

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