Differential diagnosis of meningitis and encephalitis. Differential diagnosis between viral and bacterial. The illness course varies, with progression over hours to several days. Diagnosis, initial management, and prevention of meningitis. The results of peripheral blood and spinal fluid analysis are not 100% accurate. Examination of the csf is the gold standard for the diagnosis of meningitis. Noninfectious meningitis, including medicationinduced meningeal inflammation. In endemic situations, acute meningitis or meningoencephalitis is associated with purulent or cloudy csf only in a minority of cases.
Differential diagnosis of meningitis and encephalitis neurology. Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of meningitis at patients bed. Characteristic cerebrospinal fluid csf findings of tbm include. Meningitis is an important differential diagnosis in a febrile child with. Diagnoses to consider aside from meningitis include the following. When can the management of meningitis become difficult.
Among adults in developed countries, the mortality rate from bacterial meningitis is 21 percent. Patients diagnosed with meningitis syndrome may all exhibit similar symptoms. Tuberculous meningitis tbm is the most common form of central nervous system tuberculosis tb and has very high morbidity and mortality. Types of meningitis including less common types and symptoms and diagnosis of the correct subtype. Diagnosis clinical features and clues to the responsible pathogen. Clinical diagnosis the classical symptoms and signs of acute meningitis may be absent in the very young, the very old and the very sick. Gramnegative refers to gram staining, a routine laboratory test used to determine the. Laboratory methods for the diagnosis of meningitis caused by. The peripheral white blood cell count alone is not help. Tbm is typically a subacute disease with symptoms that may persist for weeks before diagnosis. Pdf differential diagnosis of bacterial and viral meningitis remains an important clinical problem, particularly in the initial hours of.
Chronic meningitis requires a degree of clinical suspicion, as again signs of meningism may be minimal or absent. Clinical presentation of meningitis and encephalitis and subtypes. Bacterial meningitis differential diagnosis wikidoc. To find out if your teenager has meningitis, his doctor may ask him to get a procedure called a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap.
Who practical guidelines, control of epidemic meningococcal disease. Broadly speaking, there are three main potential areas of concern. Gramnegative meningitis is an infection in the membrane surrounding your brain and spinal cord. Initial diagnostic testing should be directed at excluding lifethreatening, common, and treatable etiologies.
Given the lack of specificity of clinical findings, the key to the diagnosis of meningitis is the evaluation of csf. The differential diagnosis between viral meningitis and bacterial meningitis is often very difficult. First is differentiating bacterial meningitis from other diseases which have similar clinical presentation as bacterial meningitis such as encephalitis, brain abscess, subarachnoid hemorrage, and brain tumour. Within the united states, almost 30 percent of strains of pneumococci, the most common etiologic agent of bacterial meningitis, are not susceptible to penicillin. Diagnosis, initial management, and prevention of meningitis aafp. Pdf differential diagnosis of bacterial and viral meningitis using. Difficult and recurrent meningitis journal of neurology. Meningitis describes inflammation of the meninges, the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. International and local guidelines differ with regard to initial empirical. Meningitis differential diagnoses medscape reference. The differential diagnosis of meningitis and encephalitis includes bacterial, viral, fungal, and autoimmune etiologies. Practice guidelines for the management of bacterial meningitis. Describe the causes, clinical manifestations, and general approach to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the different types of meningitis in children of various ages. Meningitis causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, pathology.
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