title: Nosocomial enterobacter meningitis: risk factors, management, and treatment outcomes.
abstract: Enterobacter species are increasingly a cause of nosocomial meningitis among neurosurgery patients, but risk factors for these infections are not well defined. A review of all adult patients hospitalized at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center during an 8-year period identified 15 postneurosurgical cases of Enterobacter meningitis (EM). Cure was achieved in 14 cases (93%), and efficacy was similar for carbapenem- and cephalosporin-based treatment. A matched case-control study comparing 26 controls with 13 case patients hospitalized exclusively at the UCLA Medical Center found that external cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage devices (odds ratio [OR], 21.8; P=.001), isolation of Enterobacter species from a non-CSF culture (OR, 24.6; P=.002), and prolonged administration of antimicrobial drugs before the diagnosis of meningitis that were inactive in vitro against Enterobacter species (OR, 13.3; P=.008) were independent risk factors for EM. Despite favorable treatment outcomes, EM is a serious infection associated with Enterobacter species colonization or infection at other surgical sites, with selective antimicrobial pressure, and with invasive CNS devices.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parodi
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lechner
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Osih
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vespa
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pegues
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004754:Enterobacter / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents