Posttraumatic meningitis due to ampicillin-resistant Hemophilus influenzae. Case report

Two men who sustained skull fractures secondary to blunt head trauma developed meningitis due to Hemophilus influenzae type b. The isolates in both cases were resistant to ampicillin but susceptible to chloramphenicol. Based of this experience, and recent epidemiological trends, it is suggested that chloramphenicol, rather than penicillin G, might be the initial therapy of choice for posttraumatic meningitis when no micro-organisms are recognized on Gram-stained smears of the cerebrospinal fluid.