title: Issues in the management of bacterial meningitis.
abstract: Acute bacterial meningitis is associated with significant morbidity and mortality despite the availability of effective antimicrobial therapy. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains in recent years has necessitated the development of new strategies for empiric antimicrobial therapy for bacterial meningitis. Specifically, the emergence of strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae that are resistant to penicillin and the cephalosporins have led to empiric therapy for patients with pneumococcal meningitis consisting of vancomycin plus a third-generation cephalosporin pending susceptibility testing. Third-generation cephalosporins are also effective as empiric therapy against other pathogens that cause community-acquired bacterial meningitis, with the exception of Listeria monocytogenes, for which ampicillin or penicillin G is the antimicrobial agent of choice. Adjunctive dexamethasone should be administered to infants and children with suspected or proven Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis to reduce audiologic and neurologic sequelae; administration concomitant with or just before the first dose of the antimicrobial agent is optimal for best results.
authors.affiliation: Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Tunkel
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Scheld
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents