Recurring E. coli meningitis in an infant

Abstract

Bacterial meningitis is a life threatening disease, and although most cases present in a single episode, a few cases of acute bacterial meningitis can be recurrent. We review the case of a 5-month-old infant who presented recurrent meningitis by E .coli, in association to a pilonidal sinus within the center of a lumbosacral angioma. Meningitis produced due to congenital defects in the caudal neural tube communicating the skin with the meninges are usually associated to skin bacteria, most frequently by S.aureus,1,5 however, the particularity of our case resides in that being an infant using diapers and having a congenital defect in the caudal neural tube,2 the stools become a potentially infective inoculums, and E. coli should be taken into consideration as well as other enterogenic bacteria.1,3 We will review the etiology of recurrent bacterial meningitis and discuss the antibiotic guidelines, the amount of days of treatment, and the time schedules of the neurosurgical repair of the congenital defect.