Meningoccocal meningitis complicated with subdural effusion: a report of two infant cases

• Main Author: Victor Perez-Pico,1 Eduardo Llausas-Magana,1 Angel Leon-Ramirez,1 Giordano Perez-Gaxiola,2 and Nidia Leon-Sicairos.3
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 2007-08-01
• Series: Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
• Subjects: Neisseria meningitidis; meningococcal meningitis; subdural effusion.
• Online Access: http://www.oloep.org/jidc/content.asp?id=956

Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of invasive bacterial infection in children of all ages. Children less than 1 year of age are at greater risk of invasive disease than older children. In endemic countries, the invasive meningococcal infections are a leading cause of bacterial meningitis in older children and adults but it is particularly rare in newborns and infants less than 1 year old. Besides meningitis, hemorrhagic skin findings have been described as part of the typical case scenario. In this report, we present two cases of meningococcal meningitis occurring in children under the age of 3 months in a non-endemic setting. Both patients did not manifest any skin lesions but had subdural effusion, an unusual complication for meningococcal meningitis.