Bacterial meningitis in pregnancy, neonate and adolescence: A report of five cases

Abstract

Background: Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the thin covering of the brain and spinal cord.
Objective: This case study identifies the aetiology and the antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial agents in suspected samples of acute meningitis.
Methods: The bacterial agents were detected by culture, Bactec 9050, Directgen and Gram Techniques from five patients of Makoda and Tudun Wada Primary Health care (PHC) facilities as well as Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital (HBPH) that were presented to Microbiology Laboratory unit of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) – a tertiary hospital located within the meningitis belt of Nigeria. Among the five cases, three were
pregnant women all in their second trimesters marked patients 1, 2 and 3 according to the increasing pattern of their ages, an adolescent marked patient 4 and a neonate marked patient 5.
Results: The CSF sample of the respective patients was assayed for pus cell, protein, and RBC. The Directgen detected Haemophillus influenzae from patients 1 and same organism was isolated from patient 2. Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from patient 3 and Neisseria meningitidis from patients 4 and 5 respectively. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing reveals sensitivity to penicillin and gentamicin by H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae and N. meningitidis. N. Meningitidis and S. pneumoniae were sensitive to ceftriazone, ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin. All the three organisms displayed intermediate sensitivity to chloramphenicol, erythromycin and tetracycline according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates the relevance of these agents as potential pathogens in the predisposed patients. The antimicrobial sensitivity depicted high sensitivity to the various classes of antibiotics.