title: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia and epidural abscess in a neonate.
abstract: A 24-day-old boy presented with fever, irritability and poor feeding. Blood culture grew methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed pleocytosis, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus grew from enrichment broth. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an epidural abscess extending from C2-3 to T8-9. Staphylococcal infections of the central nervous system are uncommon in neonates. This case demonstrates the importance of performing a lumbar puncture in isolated staphylococcal bacteraemia. The case also highlights that cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis may indicate a parameningeal focus of infection.
authors.affiliation: Grace Centre for Newborn Care, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Phoebe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Ameneh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khatami
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loughran-Fowlds
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Isaacs
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020806:Central Nervous System Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D020802:Epidural Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: epidural abscess; infectious diseases; meningitis; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; neonatology