Meningitis

Inflammation of the coverings of the brain and/or spinal cord, which consist of the PIA MATER; ARACHNOID; and DURA MATER. Infections (viral, bacterial, and fungal) are the most common causes of this condition, but subarachnoid hemorrhage (HEMORRHAGES, SUBARACHNOID), chemical irritation (chemical MENINGITIS), granulomatous conditions, neoplastic conditions (CARCINOMATOUS MENINGITIS), and other inflammatory conditions may produce this syndrome. (From Joynt, Clinical Neurology, 1994, Ch24, p6)

Also Known As:

Networked: 7562 relevant articles (446 outcomes, 536 trials/studies)

Relationship Network

Disease Context: Research Results

Related Diseases

1.	Infection
2.	Bacteremia
3.	Pneumonia (Pneumonitis)
4.	Sepsis (Septicemia)
5.	Hydrocephalus (Hydrocephaly)

Experts

1.	Barichello, Tatiana: 23 articles (08/2015 - 08/2009)
2.	Generoso, Jaqueline S: 20 articles (08/2015 - 06/2010)
3.	Quevedo, João: 18 articles (08/2015 - 12/2009)
4.	Koedel, Uwe: 17 articles (07/2015 - 01/2002)
5.	Cottagnoud, P: 17 articles (12/2013 - 01/2000)
6.	Nau, Roland: 16 articles (11/2015 - 01/2002)
7.	Cottagnoud, M: 16 articles (12/2013 - 01/2000)
8.	Kim, Kwang Sik: 16 articles (11/2013 - 11/2004)
9.	Pfister, Hans-Walter: 15 articles (07/2015 - 01/2002)
10.	Leib, Stephen L: 15 articles (01/2014 - 12/2002)

Drugs and Biologics

Drugs and Important Biological Agents (IBA) related to Meningitis:

1.	Anti-Bacterial Agents (Antibiotics)IBA 01/01/1995 - "The carbapenem class of antibacterial agents is highly effective in vitro against the bacterial pathogens causing meningitis. " 07/01/2011 - "Both episodes of meningitis were treated successfully with standard regimens of intravenous antibiotics. " 12/01/1996 - "There was a significantly greater incidence of meningitis in the group which received prophylactic antibiotics (p = 0.024). " 07/02/1982 - "Gram-negative bacillary meningitis is being diagnosed more frequently, and the introduction of newer beta-lactam antibiotics has contributed significantly to successful therapy. " 06/01/1989 - "That is, the drug distributed favorably as compared to other antibiotics, and it may be worthwhile of running clinical trials on this drug in meningitis when antimicrobial potential against main pathogens of meningitis are considered."
2.	Ceftriaxone (Ceftriaxon)FDA LinkGeneric 08/09/1985 - "Several controlled comparative studies indicate that ceftriaxone is as effective as conventional treatment in therapy for neonatal or childhood meningitis caused by Streptococcus agalactiae, Escherichia coli, or H. " 08/15/2014 - "We previously have established a mouse model of neurobehavioural deficits, using an automated IntelliCage™ system that revealed long-term behavioural and cognitive deficits in C57BL/6J female mice cured of meningitis by ceftriaxone treatment. " 05/01/1995 - "A combination of ceftriaxone and ABPC, both of which were sensitive to the pathogen, were intravenously administered for one month, by which he responded well as to the meningitis. " 02/01/1984 - "Ceftriaxone, as a single agent, was comparable in efficacy with traditional antimicrobial therapy usually employed in childhood meningitis." 01/01/1983 - "The efficacy of ceftriaxone against group B streptococci was studied in vitro and in vivo with an infant rat model of group B streptococci bacteraemia and meningitis. "
3.	Penicillins (Penicillin)FDA Link 03/01/1981 - "It was concluded that although penicillin can be used successfully to treat neonates with meningitis after intracerebral inoculation of GBS, penicillin given antepartum as bolus prophylaxis to the mother monkey was ineffective." 10/15/1949 - "[Recurrent traumatic meningitis: cure with intraspinal penicillin therapy, repeated 165 times]." 01/01/2015 - "The purpose of this study was to describe the temporal evolution of Penicillin Non-Susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PNSSP) in regards to serotype distributions and clonal diversity recovered from meningitis cases over 17 years. " 06/17/2006 - "Prehospital parenteral penicillin for meningitis: Trial in children with suspected meningococcal disease would be useful." 01/01/1994 - "The relatively low case fatality rate found in the present study may be due to the patients' good health prior to admission, rapid specific microbiological diagnosis, absence of penicillin-resistant pneumococci among the meningitis strains, and immediate institution of specific and supportive therapy."
4.	Ampicillin (Omnipen)FDA LinkGeneric 01/01/1991 - "We have demonstrated that the serum and cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of ampicillin and its efficacy when used in the treatment of meningitis are comparable whether they are administered intravenously or intramuscularly. " 08/01/1979 - "By comparison, 7 of 10 children with meningitis responded optimally to ampicillin (nonrandomized design) during the period of study. " 12/01/1964 - "INFLUENZAE MENINGITIS: A CONTROLLED STUDY OF TREATMENT WITH AMPICILLIN." 01/01/2011 - "She was diagnosed with purulent meningitis caused by actinomyces, and treated with intravenous ampicillin 12 g/day. " 06/01/2007 - "Streptococcus agalactiae is a rare cause of neonatal meningitis in the era of peripartum prophylaxis with prophylaxis with ampicillin in colonized/infected mothers. "
5.	Moxalactam (Latamoxef)FDA Link 11/01/1982 - "Fourteen of 18 isolates from cerebrospinal fluid were susceptible to less than or equal to 0.5 micrograms of moxalactam/ml. Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of moxalactam in four patients were 2.4-16 micrograms/ml. This accumulated experience indicates that moxalactam has been effective in the treatment of patients with meningitis due to highly susceptible enteric gram-negative bacilli. " 04/01/1981 - "It remains to be further determined whether 6059-S is superior to ABPC in the treatment of Haemophilus influenzae meningitis." 05/01/1982 - "Moxalactam appears to be an effective antibiotic for the treatment of neonatal gram-negative bacillary meningitis." 09/01/1981 - "In this small series, moxalactam, when administered intravenously as the sole agent of therapy, was effective in the treatment of meningitis caused by susceptible gram-negative bacilli." 11/01/1983 - "Moxalactam appears to be safe and effective as primary therapy for meningitis caused by H influenzae or N meningitidis."
6.	VaccinesIBA 03/01/2000 - "Conjugate Hib vaccines have proven effective in reducing Hib meningitis and invasive disease in the countries that have introduced them. " 01/01/1991 - "influenzae meningitis is high in tropics and those vaccines should be very useful. " 12/01/2015 - "Although vaccination has virtually eliminated serogroup A meningococcal outbreaks from the Meningitis Belt of Africa and reduced the incidence of serogroup C disease worldwide, eradication of N meningitidis will unlikely be achieved by currently available vaccines because of the continued carriage and transmission of nonencapsulated organisms. " 01/01/2011 - "Improved MC vaccines are a promising investment that could substantially contribute to reduction of child meningitis mortality world-wide." 03/01/1987 - "Safe and effective polysaccharide (PS) vaccines for prevention of bacteraemia and meningitis due to meningococcal serogroups A, C, Y, and W135 have been licensed for a number of years in the United States and in some European countries. "
7.	Cefotaxime (Kendrick)FDA LinkGeneric 02/26/1981 - "Because cefotaxime is active at low concentration and has a good diffusion in the CSF, it provides a particularly effective treatment in Gram-negative meningitis in children. " 01/01/1988 - "Cefotaxime was safe and effective in treating Gram-negative enteric bacillary meningitis in infants and children and should be considered as a potential drug of choice in Gram-negative neonatal meningitis due to susceptible organisms." 09/01/1985 - "Cefotaxime in a dosage of 150 mg/kg/day divided every 6 hours intravenously seems safe and effective therapy for neonatal Gram-negative bacillary meningitis." 03/01/1982 - "Cefotaxime appears to be potentially useful in the management of gram-negative bacillary meningitis." 09/01/1985 - "First clinical signs were noted after 5 days of antibiotherapy (Cefotaxime); at that time the meningitis was cured and the bacteriologic studies yielded negative results. "
8.	Chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin)FDA Link 02/05/1983 - "The efficacy of chloramphenicol in the treatment of 21 neonates and 9 infants with proven meningitis and 37 neonates and 3 infants with suspected meningitis was evaluated from mortality and morbidity data, and by assay of the drug in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. " 02/05/1983 - "Efficacy of chloramphenicol in the treatment of neonatal and infantile meningitis: a study of 70 cases." 08/18/1973 - "Trial of chloramphenicol for meningitis in northern savanna of Africa." 10/01/1952 - "Studies on the absorption of chloramphenicol in normal children in relation to the treatment of meningitis." 10/01/2010 - "faecium meningitis, intravenous chloramphenicol should be considered as a treatment option."
9.	VancomycinFDA LinkGeneric 04/01/2011 - "Thus, intrathecal administration of vancomycin seems a very effective and safe treatment for MRSA meningitis." 02/01/2002 - "He developed Staphylococcus epidermidis meningitis, which was treated successfully with intrathecal vancomycin. " 08/01/2013 - "Vancomycin is the mainstay of treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) meningitis. " 10/15/2004 - "Archival samples of 215 nasopharyngeal (NP) and 113 meningitis isolates were tested for the killing efficacy of vancomycin. " 09/01/1995 - "We have shown that vancomycin penetrates reliably into the CSF of children with acute meningitis, which is in contrast to previous studies with adults. "
10.	Cephalosporins (Cephalosporin Antibiotics)IBA 03/01/2003 - "When Salmonella meningitis is suspected, third-generation cephalosporins, with or without a fluoroquinolone, may be the best option for treatment." 01/01/1995 - "Although the extended spectrum cephalosporins will be effective for most cases of PRP meningitis, it is clear that such therapy is not foolproof. " 05/01/1985 - "Available data confirm that one of the newer "third generation" cephalosporins can be used effectively and safely as a single drug for therapy of meningitis caused by the usual spectrum of bacteria, if the achievable cerebrospinal fluid drug levels exceed the minimal inhibitory concentration of the infecting bacteria by at least 10-fold. " 12/16/1987 - "The prognosis of enterobacterial meningitis has improved with third generation cephalosporins. " 03/01/1993 - "The definition of cephalosporin resistance for pneumococci requires modification and further studies of the antibiotic management of meningitis caused by such strains are needed because resistance to cephalosporins is increasing and the extended spectrum cephalosporins may be ineffective as sole therapy."

Therapies and Procedures

1.	Drug Therapy (Chemotherapy) 10/22/1983 - "Complete remission of the meningitis by intrathecal anti-leukaemic chemotherapy confirmed this hypothesis." 04/15/2010 - "Route of intracerebrospinal fluid chemotherapy administration and efficacy of therapy in neoplastic meningitis." 10/03/1997 - "The symptoms and CSF findings were temporarily improved with chemotherapy and irradiation, but she relapsed into neoplastic meningitis. " 12/01/1992 - "Despite antifungal chemotherapy, neither meningitis nor bilateral adrenal gland enlargement was improved. " 10/01/2011 - "Benefit of ventriculoperitoneal cerebrospinal fluid shunting and intrathecal chemotherapy in neoplastic meningitis: a retrospective, case-controlled study."
2.	Antibiotic Prophylaxis 02/01/2008 - "Efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis in preventing meningitis was studied as well as consequences on bacterial flora. " 07/01/2006 - "Efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis in preventing meningitis was studied as well as consequences on bacterial flora. " 12/01/2015 - "This study suggested that an ultra-short single-antibiotic prophylaxis is a safe, cheap and effective regimen to prevent post-operative meningitis in patients undergoing EETS and who do not require lumbar drainage after surgery. " 06/01/1997 - "The purpose of the present study was to answer the question of whether antibiotic prophylaxis reduced the risk of meningitis. " 01/01/2015 - "When we evaluated the five included RCTs, there were no significant differences between antibiotic prophylaxis groups and control groups in terms of reduction of the frequency of meningitis, all-cause mortality, meningitis-related mortality and need for surgical correction in patients with CSF leakage. "
3.	Radiotherapy 08/01/2005 - "Ten patients (40%) required postoperative radiotherapy to achieve "remission." There were no cases of meningitis, no neurological deficits, no reoperations, and no mortality. " 01/01/2014 - "Meningitis may occur in patients with macroadenomas who have undergone transsphenoidal surgery and radiotherapy and is usually associated with rhinorrhea. " 01/01/2003 - "A case report highlighting the use of radiotherapy for palliation in a patient with neoplastic meningitis is presented at the end of this article." 11/01/2000 - "We describe a new case of adult polymicrobial anaerobic meningitis after colorectal surgery and radiotherapy and review the previous two cases." 10/01/1982 - "Treatment of sarcoid meningitis with radiotherapy."
4.	Electrodes (Electrode) 01/01/2013 - "Results from the present paper and literature analysis suggest that, (1) piM can induce ipsilateral and contralateral ossification, (2) meningitis-induced cochlear ossification is more prone to develop in the presence of a normal cochlear structure and (3) contralateral implantation after piM has proven to be effective in restoring performance when a full electrode insertion is accomplished. " 05/01/2015 - "High impedances and charge in the meningitis group may be explained by alterations in the central auditory pathway or on the electrode surface. " 08/01/2014 - "It is important to prevent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) escape around the electrode to prevent meningitis. " 09/01/2011 - "In 2002, the electrode combined with positioner was identified as a significant risk factor for postimplantation meningitis and was voluntarily discontinued by the manufacturer. " 11/01/2010 - "Fibrous sealing around the electrode array at the cochleostomy site, and the use of antibiotic-coated electrode array reduced the risk of meningitis induced via an otogenic route. "
5.	Catheters 02/01/1995 - "The patient with shunt meningitis cured without catheter removal. " 12/01/2009 - "To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study represents the first to provide data on EVD as well as LD associated meningitis rates calculated per 1000 DD; a parameter that is well established for other invasive devices such as central venous and urinary tract catheters. " 08/01/2005 - "Drug trials of external intrathecal catheters and microinfusion devices demonstrated a 3% risk of meningitis. " 08/01/2015 - "Use of external ventricular drains and lumbar catheters is associated with a risk of ventriculitis and meningitis ranging from 2% to 24% because of lack of standardized diagnostic criteria. " 07/01/2015 - "Nine cases of minor complications and eight major complications were observed, including seven cases of meningitis, and one retained catheter requiring surgical removal. "