CNS Infections I Flashcards
clinical features of CNS infection
Fever, headache, altered mental status, or focal neurologic deficits
what are the routes of infections for CNS infections
- Hematogenous dissemination
- direct injury
- neural tissue (rare)
what is trojan horse
it is a method of microbes to spread through the blood where they infect WBCs then the WBC squeeze through the barrier to get into the cell
what is encephalitis and myelitis
encephalitis - inflammation of brain parenchyma
myelitis - infection of spinal cord
what are abscesses
localized infection in the brain or spinal cord
universal epidemiological considerations
age, season, geography, medical condition/underlying disease
how do you diagnose CNS infection
lumbar puncture and neuroimaging like CT or MRI (done before lumbar puncture)
what are some risks to doing a lumbar puncture
- headaches
- infection
- temporary pain or numbness to legs or lower back pain
- risk of bleeding into spinal canal
- ICP could be due to cerebral mass lesion and lumbar puncture –> brain herniation
normal pressure in the CSF
70-180mm H2O
how is a lumbar puncture performed
CSF is drawn from between two vertebrae with patient in the lateral decubitus position
appearance of normal and abnormal CSF
normal - clear, colorless
abnormal - cloudy/turbid
what are routine tests for CSF
WBC count with differential, RBC count, [Glucose], [protein], gram stain, bacteria culture
normal CSF value for WBC, RBC, glucose, protein
WBC - 0-5/mm3 for children and adults then 32/mm3 for neonates
RBC - none
glucose - 40-70mg/dL
protein: newborn is 150mg/dL and then from 6 months on it is 18-58mg/dL
typical findings in meningitis for bacteria: pressure, WBC count, cell differential, protein, glucose
pressure elevated WBC: greater than 1000/mm3 mainly neutrophils protein 100-500mg/dL glucose 0-10mg/dL
typical findings in meningitis for viral: pressure, WBC count, cell differential, protein, glucose
normal pressure WBC: less than 100/mm3 mainly lymphocytes protein 50-100mg/dL glucose 40-70mg/dL