Laboratory Findings
Bacterial meningitis is the most common suppurative infection of the central nervous system (Mitropoulos, Hermsen, Rotschafer, 2012). It is rapid progressing and can lead to death or debilitating effects if not diagnosed and treated quickly. In order to diagnose a patient with bacterial meningitis a cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) examination is necessary. To obtain the CSF from a patient a lumbar puncture is usually done. When the physician is performing the lumbar puncture they can also determine the pressure in the subarachnoid space using a sterile manometer attached to the needle (Pagana, Pagana, Pagana, 2015). Normal CSF pressure is 70-180 mmH2O; anything greater than 180 mmH2O would be considered elevated cerebrospinal pressure and could indicate an infection (Ross & Tyler, 2014).
The CSF culture is considered the “gold standard” diagnostic test for an accurate diagnosis of bacterial meningitis (Brouwer, Tunkel, & Beek, 2010). A normal CSF culture would have no growth on the dish and that would be considered a negative result. A negative result would mean that no bacteria, fungi, or virus grew in the sample, but that does not necessarily mean that the …show more content…
If the laboratory findings confirm S. pneumoniae as the causative agent one of three directed therapy options are used including penicillin G monotherapy, cefotaxime or ceftriaxone monotherapy, or vancomycin given with cefotaxime or ceftriaxone given for approximately 10-14 days (Sucher, 2013). Penicillin G may be used as a monotherapy as long as the infecting bacteria is not penicillin resistant (Sucher, 2013). Adult dosing for Penicillin G is 24 million units/day by IV given in divided doses every 4 hours (Micromedex, 2017). The only common adverse effect seen with penicillin G use is drug-induced eosinophilia (Micromedex, 2017). The FDA has determined that penicillin is a Pregnancy Category
Bacterial meningitis is the most common suppurative infection of the central nervous system (Mitropoulos, Hermsen, Rotschafer, 2012). It is rapid progressing and can lead to death or debilitating effects if not diagnosed and treated quickly. In order to diagnose a patient with bacterial meningitis a cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) examination is necessary. To obtain the CSF from a patient a lumbar puncture is usually done. When the physician is performing the lumbar puncture they can also determine the pressure in the subarachnoid space using a sterile manometer attached to the needle (Pagana, Pagana, Pagana, 2015). Normal CSF pressure is 70-180 mmH2O; anything greater than 180 mmH2O would be considered elevated cerebrospinal pressure and could indicate an infection (Ross & Tyler, 2014).
The CSF culture is considered the “gold standard” diagnostic test for an accurate diagnosis of bacterial meningitis (Brouwer, Tunkel, & Beek, 2010). A normal CSF culture would have no growth on the dish and that would be considered a negative result. A negative result would mean that no bacteria, fungi, or virus grew in the sample, but that does not necessarily mean that the …show more content…
If the laboratory findings confirm S. pneumoniae as the causative agent one of three directed therapy options are used including penicillin G monotherapy, cefotaxime or ceftriaxone monotherapy, or vancomycin given with cefotaxime or ceftriaxone given for approximately 10-14 days (Sucher, 2013). Penicillin G may be used as a monotherapy as long as the infecting bacteria is not penicillin resistant (Sucher, 2013). Adult dosing for Penicillin G is 24 million units/day by IV given in divided doses every 4 hours (Micromedex, 2017). The only common adverse effect seen with penicillin G use is drug-induced eosinophilia (Micromedex, 2017). The FDA has determined that penicillin is a Pregnancy Category