Meningitis

Running Head : Meningitis

Meningitis

In Apa Style

I . Introduction and Literature Review

Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges . Most patients suffering from any type of meningitis complain headache and have symptoms of nausea and vomiting . Convulsions and coma accompany the infection in many cases . The mortality rate varies with the pathogen but is generally high for an infectious disease today (Schlech , 2001 . Many people who survive an attack suffer some sort of neurological damage

Meningitis can be caused by different types of pathogens , including viruses , bacteria , fungi , and

protozoans . In this study , we will discuss bacterial meningitis . There are three major types of bacterial meningitis - meningococcal meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis pneumococcal meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae , and Hemophilus influenzae meningitis . These three types make up the great majority of meningitis cases . Only meningococcal meningitis is a notifiable disease (Rowland , 2000 . Table 1 .1 presents data about these and some other types of bacterial meningitis

Table 1 .1 Types of Bacterial Meningitis

Bacterium Percentage of All reported Meningitis Comments

Neisseria Meningitidis

Hemophilus influenzae

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Leptospira

interrogans

Listeria monocytogenes

Nocardia asteroids

27

48

13

Uncommon

Uncommon

Uncommon

Uncommon Can occur as epidemics fatality rate of about 5

Fatality rate of about 6

Fatality rate of 27 to 50

Complication of tuberculosis fatality rate of about 20

Meningitis is a common symptom of leptospirosis

Causes spontaneous abortions and fetal damage meningitis in immunosuppressed persons

Meningitis is a common complication of pulmonary infections by Nocardia Nearly about 50 species of bacteria have been reported to be opportunistic pathogens that occasionally cause meningitis . These include common organisms as Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae . Although the number of cases of meningitis caused by these gram-negative organisms is low , the fatality rate is excess of 30

II . Discussion

A . Pathophysiology

Meningeal infections generally originate in one of two ways : through the bloodstream as a consequence of other infections , or by direct extension , such as might occur after a traumatic injury to the facial bones , or secondary to invasive procedures

N . meningitidis concentrates in the nasopharynx and is transmitted by secretion or aerosol contamination . Bacterial or meningoccal meningitis also occurs as an opportunistic infection in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS ) and as a complication of Lyme disease S . pneumoniae is the most frequent causative agent of bacterial meningitis associated with AIDS (Rosenstein Perkins , 2001

Once the causative organism enters the bloodstream , it crosses the blood-brain barrier and causes an inflammatory reaction in the meninges Independent of the causative agent , inflammation of the subarachoid space and pia mater occurs . Since there is little room for expansion within the cranial vault , the inflammation may cause increased intracranial pressure . Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF ) flows in the subarachnoid space , where inflammatory cellular material from the affected meningeal tissue enters and accumulates in the subarachnoid space , thereby increasing the CSF cell count (Coyle , 2004

The prognosis for bacterial meningitis depends on the causative organism , the severity of the infection and illness , and the timeliness of treatment...