Pneumococcal meningitis is a bacterial inflammation or infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
See also:
Pneumococcal meningitis
Causes, incidence, and risk factorsPneumococcal meningitis is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae (also called pneumococcus). The bacteria is the most common cause of meningitis in adults, and the second most common cause of meningitis in children older than age 6.
Risk factors include:
Symptoms usually come on quickly, and may include:
Physical examination will show:
For any patient with meningitis, it is important to perform a lumbar puncture ("spinal tap"), in which spinal fluid (known as cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF) is collected for testing.
Tests that may be done include:
Antibiotic therapy should be started as soon as possible. Ceftriaxone is one of the most commonly used antibiotics.
If the antibiotic is not working, and the health care provider suspects antibiotic resistance, vancomycin or rifampin are used. Sometimes systemiccorticosteroids may be used, especially in children.
Expectations (prognosis)Early treatment improves the outcome. However, 20% of people who get this disease will die of it and 50% will have serious long-term complications.
ComplicationsAbout half of all patients have long-term complications, such as the following:
Call the local emergency number (such as 911) or go to an emergency room if you suspect meningitis in a young child who has the following symptoms:
Call the local emergency number if you develop any of the serious symptoms listed above. Meningitis can quickly become a life-threatening illness.
PreventionEarly treatment of pneumonia and ear infections caused by pneumococcus may decrease the risk of meningitis. There are also two effective vaccines available to prevent pneumococcus infection.
The following people should be vaccinated, according to current recommendations:
Swartz MN. Meningitis: bacterial, viral, and other. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 437.
Pneumococcal meningitis is an infection that causes swelling and irritation (inflammation) of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges).
See also:
Pneumococcal meningitis
Causes, incidence, and risk factorsPneumococcal meningitis is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae (also called pneumococcus). The bacteria is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in adults, and the second most common cause of meningitis in children older than age 2.
Risk factors include:
Symptoms usually come on quickly, and may include:
Other symptoms that can occur with this disease:
Pneumococcal meningitis is an important cause of fever in children and newborns.
Signs and testsPhysical examination will usually show:
For any patient who is suspected of having meningitis, it is important to perform a lumbar puncture ("spinal tap"), in which spinal fluid (known as cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF) is collected for testing.
Tests that may be done include:
Treatment with antibiotics should be started as soon as possible. Ceftriaxone is one of the most commonly used antibiotics.
If the antibiotic is not working and the health care provider suspects antibiotic resistance, vancomycin or rifampin are used. Sometimes systemiccorticosteroids may be used, especially in children.
Expectations (prognosis)Early treatment improves the outcome. However, 20% of people who get this disease will die of it and 25 - 50% will have serious long-term brain and nervous system (neurologic) complications.
ComplicationsAbout half of all patients have long-term complications, such as the following:
Call the local emergency number (such as 911) or go to an emergency room if you suspect meningitis in a young child who has the following symptoms:
Call the local emergency number if you develop any of the serious symptoms listed above. Meningitis can quickly become a life-threatening illness.
PreventionEarly treatment of pneumonia and ear infections caused by pneumococcus may decrease the risk of meningitis. There are also two effective vaccines available to prevent pneumococcus infection.
The following people should be vaccinated, according to current recommendations:
Swartz MN. Meningitis: bacterial, viral, and other. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 437.
Reviewed ByReview Date: 09/15/2010
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Jatin M. Vyas, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
The best way to prevent meningitis is to be vaccinated against it. Both Haemophilus influenza type B and Pneumococcal vaccines prevent meningitis.
Adults are most commonly infected by either S. pneumoniae or N. meningitidis, with pneumococcal meningitis the more common.
A person is one of those cases that is vital, and that entails professional tending to about
Patients who have had their spleens removed, or whose spleens are no longer functional (as in the case of patients with sickle cell disease ) are more susceptible to other infections, including meningococcal and pneumococcal meningitis.
Meningococcal meningitis patients should be placed on droplet precautions (private room, mask for all entering the room) until they have completed 24 hours of appropriate antibiotic therapy. Negative pressure ventilation is not required. Patients with pneumococcal or viral meningitis do not require isolation.
it usually feeds on children and old people
There is no math in meningitis. Meningitis is an inflammation, and is not mathematical in any way. Math involves numbers, and meningitis involves inflammation.
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Streb B was the cause of my 5-dayold son's meningitis. It is found vaginally in some women, so during delivery it could be passed on to the baby. Strep B can also cause other very serious bacterial infections in newborns. In the US. doctors swab all expectant mums as part of the childbirth routine. Unfortunately that's not the case in Britain, but thankfully my son was diagnosed swiftly and made a full recovery.
How do u get meningitis from leukemia
Meningitis is spread by coming in contact with the saliva or mucus of someone who already has meningitis. Meningitis affects the membranes that enclose the spinal cord and brain.
Five years. The Pneumococcal Vaccine prevents serious blood, brain, and lung infections from the streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. This includes pneumonia and meningitis.