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Brucellar meningitis
E Bouza1, M García de la Torre, F Parras
1Infectious Diseases Unit (Microbiology Service), Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
Reviews of Infectious Diseases
|July 1, 1987
Summary
Brucellar meningitis, a rare complication of brucellosis, often mimics other conditions. Early diagnosis and combination antibiotic therapy are crucial for managing this neurological infection.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Neurology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Brucellosis is a systemic infection with potential neurological complications.
- Neurobrucellosis, particularly brucellar meningitis, is uncommon, affecting less than 5% of systemic cases.
- Meningeal involvement is the most frequent presentation of neurobrucellosis.
Observation:
- This study analyzed seven new cases of brucellar meningitis and 17 from existing literature.
- Epidemiologic data, clinical symptoms, and laboratory findings (CSF and serum) were evaluated.
- Brucellar meningitis presents a diagnostic challenge due to its mimicry of other neurological and non-neurological conditions.
Findings:
- Isolation of Brucella from cerebrospinal fluid is rare.
- Effective treatment involves a combination of tetracycline or doxycycline with streptomycin or rifampin.
- The average treatment duration in the analyzed cases was 8.5 months.
Implications:
- Prompt diagnosis of brucellar meningitis relies heavily on adequate epidemiological information.
- Brucellar meningitis generally has a better prognosis than other chronic meningitis forms, despite a high incidence of minor sequelae.
- Further research is needed to understand the reasons for low mortality in brucellar meningitis.