Current concepts of bacterial infections of the central nervous system

Abstract

Investigative work continues to provide guidance toward more rational management of bacterial meningitis and bacterial brain abscess. An increased understanding of the host's response in cases of bacterial meningitis has established that diffusibility of an antibiotic into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is necessary, but is not sufficient for microbial cure. The antibiotic must also have a bactericidal effect on the pathogen. Meningitis after neurosurgery may be caused by Gram-negative aerobic bacilli. In some of these cases the newer cephalosporin antibiotics may be a useful advance. Meningitis complicating ventricular CSF shunts presents a paradigm for the problem of eradicating foreign body-related infections. Studies of the interaction of the host, the organism, and the shunt material offer some explanation for the limited efficacy of antibiotics observed in this setting. There have been advances in microbial definition of bacterial brain abscess. The identification of Bacteroides fragilis as a pathogen in certain brain abscesses has established a role for a newly available antibiotic, metronidazole. The study of the pathological distinction between cerebritis and frank abscess is clarifying two clinical characteristics of brain abscess: the limited success of antibiotic treatment and the increase in intracranial pressure. Computerized tomography has offered a valuable clinical "look" at brain abscesses; however, there are still problems in correlating the scan images with the evolving pathological process.