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Meningitis - staphylococcal - Overview

Alternative Names

Staphylococcal meningitis

Definition of Meningitis - staphylococcal:

Staphylococcal meningitis is a bacterial infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges).

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Meningitis is caused by Staphylococcus bacteria. When it is caused by Staphylococcus aureus or Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria, it usually develops as a complication of a surgical procedure, or as an infection spread by the blood from another site.

Risk factors include:

Infections of heart valves
Past infection of the brain
Past meningitis associated with spinal fluid shunts
Recent brain surgery

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; 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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