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Meningitis - gram-negative - Overview

Alternative Names

Gram-negative meningitis

Definition of Meningitis - gram-negative:

Gram-negative meningitis is an infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges) caused by bacteria that turn pink when exposed to a special stain (gram-negative bacteria).

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Acute bacterial meningitis can be caused by gram-negative bacteria. Bacteria causing gram-negative meningitis include:

Acinetobacter baumannii
Enterobacter aerogenes
Escherichia coli
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Gram-negative meningitis is much more common in infants than adults.

Risk factors in adults and children include:

Local infection
Recent brain surgery
Recent injury to the head
Spinal abnormalities
Spinal fluid shunt placement after brain surgery
Urinary tract abnormalities
Urinary tract infection

Central nervous system

Reviewed last on: 9/28/2008
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Jatin M. Vyas, PhD, MD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Swartz MN. Meningitis: bacterial, viral, and other. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 437.

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