CNS infections- Kozel Flashcards
What are the 2 focal CNS syndromes?
- brain abscess
- subdural empyema
- epidural abscess
What are the routine tests of CSF?
- WBC count w/ diff (norm=0-5)
- glucose conce (norm=50-80)
- protein conc (norm=15-50)
- gram stain
- bacterial culture
If you have viral meningitis, what will your CSF labs look like?
WBC- 50-1000
cell type- mononuclear
glucose >45 mg/dl
protein <200
If you have bacterial meningitis, what will your CSF labs look like?
WBC 1000-5000
cell type- neutrophilic
glucose <40
protein 100-500
If you have tuberculous meningitis, what will your CSF labs look like?
WBC 50-300
Cell type- mononuclear
glucose <45
protein 50-300
If you have cryptococcal meningitis, what will your CSF labs look like?
WBC 20-500
Cell type - mononuclear
glucose 45
What are normal CSF labs like?
WBC -> 0-5/mm^2
glucose 50-80
protein 15-50
Why do you get increased WBC count in CSF when you have meningitis?
due to inflammation and immune response
-must be adjusted if evidence for blood in CSF
Why do you get decreased glucose in your CSF when you have meningitis?
- increased glycolysis by leukocytes and bacteria
- increased metabolic rate of brain and spinal cord
- altered glucose transport b/w blood and CSF
Why do you get increased protein in your CSF when you have meningitis?
- disruption of blood-brain barrier
- must be adjusted if evidence for blood in CSF
What are the contraindications for Lumbar Puncture (LP)?
- Papilledema-increased cranial pressure
- neurological suggestion of intracranial mass
So your patient has a headache, nuchal rigidity, and fever but no altered mental status,,, is it more likely encephalitis or meningitis?
meningitis
What is meningitis?
inflammation of protective membranes covering brain and spinal cord-meninges
What is acute meningitis?
onset of symptoms over hours to several days
What is aseptic meningitis?
any meningitis for which a cause is not apparent after routine stains and culture of CSF
What are the symptoms of acute meningitis?
- headache and neck stiffness associated with fever
- confusion or altered consciousness
- vomiting
- inability to tolerate light (photophobia) or loud noises (phonophobia)
What is the initial management of acute meningitis?
- lumbar puncture and CSF analysis
- empiric antimicrobial therapy based on patients age
- dexamethasone (corticosteroid) if appropriate
What are the three major causes of VIRAL meningitis and which causes the most cases?
- Enteroviruses (85-95% of all cases)
- Mumps virus
- Herpesvirus
What are 5 major causes of bacterial meningitis and what bacter causes the most cases?
- Streptococcus pneumoniae (61% of all cases)
- H. influenza
- N. meningitidis
- S. agalactiae
- Listeria monocytogenes
What are the 2 causes of spirochetal meningitis?
- Treponema pallidum
- Borrelia burgdorferri
What is another way you can get meningitis (other than viruses, bacteria and spirochetal)?
protozoal and helminthic meningitis
What is the pathophysiology of bacterial meningitis?
- mucosal/nasopharyngeal colonization
- local invasion
- intravascular survival
- meningeal invasion
- induction of subarachnoid space inflammation
- alterations in BBB
- cerebral edema and ICP
What is vasogenic cerebral edema?
increased BBB permeability
What is cytotoxic cerebral edema?
swelling of cellular elements of brain
What is interstitial cerebral edema?
obstruction of normal flow of CSF
What are the most common bacterial pathogens that babies less than 1 month old get?
- strep agalactiae
- E. coli
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Klebsiella spp.
What are the most common bacterial pathogens that babies get b/w 1-23 months?
- Strep agalactiae
- E. coli
- H influenzae
- Strep pneumoniae
- N. meningitidis
What are the most common bacterial pathogens that people age 2-50 years old get?
- Strep pneumoniae
- N. meningitidis
What are the most commmon bacterial pathogens that people over the age of 50 get?
- Strep pneumoniae
- N. meningitidis
- L. monocytogenes
- Aerobic gram-negative bacilli
How come we have decreased levels of meningitis caused by h. influenzae?
due to shots!
Why is inflammation in the brain super bad? How do you rememdy this?
cuz it disrupts the BB and allows for penetration
-corticosteroids
YOu need an antibiotic with good BBB penetration if you dont have meningeal infammation, what properties does this antibiotic need?
- low molecular weight
- low degree of ionization at physiological pH
- high lipid solubility
- low degree of protein binding
- absence of active efflux systems
FOr babies less than 1 month of age who have purulent meningitis, what therapy do you give them?
Ampicillin plus cefotaxime OR
ampicillin plus an aminoglycoside
(everyone is AMPed about KELS
For children 1-23 months who have purulent meningitis, what therapy do you give them?
Vancomycin plus third-generation cephalosporin (ceftriaxone or cefotaxime)
For people ages 2-50 years who have purulent meningitis, what therapy do you give them?
vancomycin plus 3rd generation cephalosporin (ceftriaxona or cefotaxime)
For people less than 50 years who have purulent meningitis, what therapy do you give them?
vancomycin plus ampicillin plus a third generation cephalosporin
If you are positive the microorganism causing meningitis is strep pneumo, what do you give them?
Vancomycin and 3rd generation cephalosporin
Alt: meropenem, fluorquinolone
If you are positive the microorganism causing meningitis is N. meningitidis, what do you give them?
Third generation cephalosporin
ALT:Penicillin G, ampicillin, fluoroquinolone
If you are positive the microorganism causing meningitis is Listeria monocytogenes, what do you give them?
Ampicillin or penicillin G
Alt: TMP-SMX, meropenem
If you are positive the microorganism causing meningitis is strep agalactiae, what do you give them?
ampicillin or penicillin G
Alt: third-generation cephalosporin
If you are positive the microorganism causing meningitis is H. influenzae, what do you give them?
third-generation cephalosporin
Alt: cefepime, meropenem, fluoroquinolone
If you are positive the microorganism causing meningitis is E. coli, what do you give them?
Third-generation cephalosporin
Alt: cefepime, meropenem, aztreonam, fluoroquinolone, TMP-SMX
What is the definition of chronic meningitis?
- indolent onset greater than or equal to 4 weeks
- signs of chronic inflammation in CSF
What are the early symptoms of chronic meningitis?
- headache
- nausea
- decreased memory and comprehension
Whats are the differences between acute meningitis and chronic meningitis?
in chronic meningitis:
- onset is more gradual
- fever is lower
- associated with lethargy and disability
- often immunocompromised
What are the etiologies of chronic meningitis?
- mycoses
- bacteria
- parasites
What are the four mycoses that cause chronic meningitis?
- cryptococcosis
- coccidiodomycosis
- histoplasmosis
- candidiasis
What are the three bacteria that cause chronic meningitis?
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Treponema pallidum
- Borrelia burgdorferii
What are the three parasites that cause chronic meningitis?
- Acanthamebiasis
- Cysticerosis
- Angiostrngylus cantonensis
What is the definition of encephalitis?
inflammatory process of the brain parenchyma
-> clinical or lab evidence of neurologic dysfunction
What are the symptoms of encephalitis?
- fever and headache
- altered mental status -usually earlier than with meningitis
What is the CSF profile of encephalitis?
- lymphocytic pleocytosis (elevated lymphocytes)- magnitude varies with etiologic agent
- normal glucose
- elevated protein
What is the most common way to encephalitis?
Viral encephalitis
What are the 2 ways you can get viral encephalitis?
Herpesviruses Arboviruses HIV Enteroviruses, primarily poliovirus Rabies virus
What are the types of herpesvirus that cause viral encephalitis?
HSV-1 and HSV-2
Varicella Zoster virus
CMV
HHV-6
What are the non-viral causes of encephalitis (much less common)?
Listeria monocytogenes Rickettsia spp. Ehrlichia spp. Bartonella spp. Mycoplasma pneumoniae
What is this:
focal, intracerebral infection that begins as a localized area of cerebritis and develops into collection of pus surrounded by a well-vascularized capsule
brain abscess
What are the sources of brain abscess?
- contiguous spread- sinusitis, otitis media or matoiditis
- hematogenous
- trauma
What are the symptoms of brain abscess?
general-headache, nausea, vomiting, focal neurologic findings
-vary with the site of the abscess
What are the bacteria that can cause brain abscesses?
- Streptococcus spp. (70%)
- Enterobacteriaceae
- S. aureus (10-20%) -
- Pseudomonas spp.
- Bacterioides spp.
- Nocardia asteroides
- Prevotella spp. -
- Mycobacterium spp.
- Fusobacterium spp.
What are the fungi that can cause brain abscesses?
Aspergillus spp. Mucorales
Candida spp.
Coccidioides spp.
Cryptococcus spp.
What are the protozoal and helmithinic causes of brain abscess?
- toxoplasma gondii (most common)
- Neurocysticercosis- larval form of Taenia solium; developing word
- AND trypanosoma cruzi, Entamoeba histolytica, Shistosoma spp.
What are the predisposing conditions that can cause brain abscess?
- sinus and dental infection
- penetrating trauma
- pulmonary infection
- congenital heart disease
- HIV infection
- transplantation
- neutropenia
What are the culprits of sinus and dental infections?
- aerobic and anaerobic streptococci
- bacteroides spp.
- prevotella spp.
- enterobacteriaceae
- S. aureus
What are culprits of penetrating trauma?
- S. aureus
- aerobic streptococci
- enterobacteriaceae
- Clostridium spp.
What are the culprits of pulmonary infection?
- fusobacterium
- actinomyces
- bacteroides
- prevotella spp.
- Nocardia spp.
- S. aureus
What are the culprits of congenital heart disease?
- streptococci
- S. aureus
What are the culprits of HIV infection?
- toxoplasma gondii
- Nocardia spp.
- Mycobacterium spp.
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Cryptococus neoformans
What are the culprits of microbes associated with transplantation?
- aerobic gram-neg bacilli
- aspergillus spp.
- candida spp.
- mucorales
What is this:
- gram negative cocci
- pathogens are fastidious-> isolate on chocolate agar, and thayer-martin medium
Neisseria Meningitidis
Neisseriaceae
What does N. meningitidis produce?
indophenol oxidase
How do you kill N. meningitidis?
by drying, sunlight, heat and chemicals (super easy to kill)
What is the antigenic structure of N. meningitidis?
- group specific capsular polysaccharide (12 groups)
- type specific outer membrane proteins
- type specific lipooligosaccharide (LOS)
What are the Group A, B, C, Y and W strains of N meningitidis?
Group A - classic epidemic strain
Group B - endemic strain
-Polymer of sialic acid
-Poorly immunogenic – seen as self
-Antigen expressed in neonatal tissue
Group C - endemic and occasional epidemic strain
Groups Y and W-135 - endemic strains
There is the meningitis belt in (blank) -> predominantly group A
sub-saharan Africa
What are the three meningococcal infections (caused by N. meningitis)?
- meningococcemia (may occur with or without meningitis)
- meningitis
- petechia lesions
What do you see on the patients skin when they have fulimant (sudden onset) sepsis and meningitis?
purpura
petechia
ecchymoses
What is hemorrhage into skin?
What is petechiae?
What is ecchymoses?
purpura
small hemorrhagic spots
large irregularly formed hemorrhagic areas
petechiae correlate with the degree of thrombocytopenia due to (blank)
DIC
What are the viruence factors of N. meningitis?
- antiphagocytic capsule
- lipooligosaccharide
- out membrane porins
- pili
What makes up the lipooligosaccharide of N. meningitis and what does it do?
How is it released?
- Lipid A, core oligosaccharide, LACKS O ANTIGEN
- extremely toxic and produces inflammation
- from bacterial surface as membrane blebs
What is the progression of infection of N. meningitis?
- gains access to nasopharynx
- adheres via pili to epithelial cells of nasopharynx
- remains local (carrier) or spreads via lymphatics to blood (bacteremia) and meninges (meningitis)
- capsule prevents phagocytosis and complement-mediated lysis
- tissue damage due to LOS (late onset sepsis)
- DIC due to LOS
What will DIC caused by N. meningitis lead to?
- hemorrhagic involvement of BVs
- shock
Why can you get multiple attacks of n. meningitis?
deficiencies of terminal complement proteins (C5, C6, C7 and C8)
How do you identify N. meningitis?
- specimens (blood, CSF, NP secretiions found in carriers)
- direct exam-> gram stain CSF
- Isolation
- Differential tests
How can you isolate N. meningitis?
(culture, incubate in CO2, blood agar, Thayer-Martin, chocolate agar)