Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Infection, Education and training, Acute, Screening, Diagnostic procedure, Ultrasound-Spectral Doppler, Ultrasound-Colour Doppler, Ultrasound, Anatomy, CNS, Emergency
Authors:
M. Diez Blanco, M. Fajardo Puentes, A. A. Montes Tome, C. Mostaza Sariñena, S. G. Rizzo, M. D. M. Velasco Casares, M. Hernandez Herrero, G. Fernandez Perez; VALLADOLID/ES
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2018/C-0751
Background
- INTRODUCTION:
Bacterial and viral meningitis is an uncommon but serious condition in the newborn and infant child.
Despite the recent advances in neonatal intensive care units and a wide range of potent antibiotics,
neonatal meningitis remains an important cause of neurological disability worldwide.
- PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF MENINGITIS:
Meningitis usually occurs as a result of bacteremia and sepsis,
with initial seeding of the central nervous system via the choroid plexus.
The infection then spreads into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and can cause inflammation of the ventricular system (ventriculitis).
Inflammation of the meninges typically follows; meningeal inflammation extends to the walls of the bridging and cortical veins to cause thrombophlebitis and vascular occlusion,
which is associated with cortical infarct. Fig. 1
Later pathological findings include diffuse cerebral cortical and white matter atrophy,
hydrocephalus,
which can also be seen in the early phase,
multicystic encephalomalacia,
porencephaly and ventricular septations.
In the newborn infant,
Streptococcus group B,
Escherichia Coli and Listeria Monocytogenes are the most commonly isolated organisms in CSF.