How to diagnose reactive meningitis in time and prevent serious consequences. Reactive meningitis: mortality and consequences Reactive meningitis

Reactive or fulminant meningitis- an inflammatory disease of the membranes of the brain, characterized by the rapid development of symptoms, a serious condition of the patient and a rather high mortality rate. The most common cause of the development of this form is bacteria - meningococci, streptococci, pneumococci, transmitted by airborne droplets from person to person. Reactive meningitis can be both a primary infection and a secondary one - for example, with cracks and fractures of the bones of the skull and cervical vertebrae, the microflora easily penetrates the meninges, multiplies and provokes an inflammatory reaction.

The rapid development of fulminant meningitis often leaves doctors no time to diagnose, because even an adult in the absence of medical measures will not live more than 1-2 days, children have even less time allotted.

Symptoms

The course of reactive meningitis is hyperacute, all the symptoms that an infected person has to endure fall within 24-48 hours, mixing and erasing. As for other forms of inflammation of the meninges, symptoms of damage to the nervous system are of diagnostic value:

Exhausting vomiting, with attacks of cutting pains in the abdomen;
Spastic tension of the muscles of the occiput, neck and calves, which determines the characteristic position of the patient - lying on his side, the head is thrown back, the legs are bent at the knees and pressed to the stomach;
Clonic-tonic convulsions, alternating with lethargy and apathy;
Severe headache and muscle pain;
Increased tactile, auditory and visual sensitivity.

The temperature in patients with reactive meningitis, as a rule, goes over forty degrees. With rapidly spreading purulent inflammation of the meninges, the cranial and spinal nerves are often affected, which is clinically expressed as unilateral paralysis of the face or extremities.

For reactive meningitis, a sharp shift in blood counts is also characteristic, vascular permeability increases - bleeding spots and hemorrhagic diathesis appear on the skin. The breakdown of red blood cells and the release of hemoglobin leads to an increase in the level of hemosiderin in the blood, liver and kidneys - a very characteristic black rash may appear on the skin, the patient's urine becomes dark in color.

An integral sign of fulminant meningitis is disseminated intravascular coagulation - blood clotting inside the vessels with the formation of small blood clots that block the blood flow in the capillaries. At the same time, small foci of heart attacks form on the skin, mucous membranes and in internal organs, rupture of capillaries can cause cerebral hemorrhage.

Diagnostics

The rapid development of the clinical picture does not allow doctors to conduct a full-fledged diagnosis, since there is practically no time for it. Nevertheless, by the method of lumbar puncture, cerebrospinal fluid is taken for examination, applied to a glass slide, stained according to Gram and microscoped. Detection of coccal forms of bacteria allows you to establish an accurate diagnosis.

Changes in the composition of the blood are considered characteristic - an increased breakdown of erythrocytes with the release of iron, extremely. The immune system, due to the rapid development of the disease, does not have time to react properly, only rarely is it detected. With hyperacute meningitis, urine becomes dark in color, protein and blood elements are found in it.

Treatment

Therapy for reactive meningitis should be immediate and intense, otherwise death cannot be avoided. Because there is no time to determine the sensitivity of microflora, antibacterial drugs are prescribed empirically, choosing groups that can affect all possible microbes - penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides.

The intramuscular injection of antibiotics is performed at the maximum therapeutic dose every three to four hours, the time and dose of each injection are recorded on paper. If the treatment is delayed and the patient's condition is severe, then in addition to the general course, antibiotics are injected into the spinal canal.

If the patient is able to drink, then he is prescribed an abundant drinking regimen. Intravenous solutions of electrolytes and plasma substitutes are administered, while furosemide is prescribed to avoid cerebral edema. For the relief of seizures and muscle spasms, antispasmodics and muscle relaxants are prescribed.

Reactive meningitis is an extremely dangerous disease with a poor prognosis in most cases. Only timely and intensive treatment can avoid death, in children and the elderly, the progression is so rapid that often medicine is powerless. In order to avoid infection with reactive meningitis, it is necessary to exclude contact with possible sources of infection, not to visit the places of outbreaks of the disease, and also strictly observe the rules of personal hygiene.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. The process starts an infection, the causative agent of which can be various pathogenic bacteria. These include meningococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococcus and others. They enter the body through airborne droplets, when eating contaminated food, and also in a household way, for example, through common items or when visiting public places.

Reactive meningitis, the symptoms of which imply the fulminant spread and course of the disease, requires special attention. To understand how to prevent and stop a deadly disease, it is important to know the causes of its occurrence, as well as the main symptoms and methods of therapy.

The most common causative agent of meningitis is the meningococcal bacillus, which is transmitted by airborne droplets. You can catch an infection anywhere: in a hospital or clinic, in public transport, a store, and so on. Infection of children occurs, as a rule, during epidemics in kindergartens, schools and other educational institutions.

In addition, other types of bacteria are also capable of infecting the lining of the brain, it can be staphylococcus or enterovirus infection. The following diseases also act as a provocateur of the disease:

mumps;
rubella;
measles;
otitis;
sinusitis;
purulent lesions and abscesses;
furunculosis.

Injuries to the skull and spine can often provoke reactive meningitis. The risk group includes children with weakened immunity and adults with established or latent immunodeficiency.

Signs of pathology

This life-threatening ailment, like other disorders, has its own characteristic symptoms. For the reactive type of the disease, the hallmark remains the rate of development of symptoms.

The first clinical signs include:

clouding of consciousness;
increased body temperature;
drowsiness;
fatigue;
fever;
muscle weakness;
urge to vomit and nausea;
severe headaches radiating to the back and cervical spine;
increased sensitivity to light;
violation of the rhythm of the heart;
shortness of breath;
paresis of the limbs;
hearing and visual impairment;
skin manifestations.

For infants, meningitis is also symptomatic of swelling and tension in the fontanelle region.

Headaches that occur when the lining of the brain is damaged do not go away with medication. Posture helps relieve soreness, which is also a peculiar sign of meningitis. If, with the head thrown back and the legs bent at the knees, pressed to the stomach, it becomes easier, it can be assumed that a person has an infectious reactive meningitis.

Diagnostics and treatment

The rapid onset of symptoms is a cause for concern and immediate medical attention. Rash, fever and headaches give reason to suspect a meningococcal infection in a patient. Only a specialist will be able to establish an accurate diagnosis and determine the pathogen after carrying out the necessary research and laboratory tests.

To find out which infection is the causative agent, the cerebrospinal fluid allows. Her fence is carried out using a lumbar puncture. A general blood test is also quite informative, but it only helps to determine the presence of an inflammatory process. With meningitis, leukocyte counts and erythrocyte sedimentation rate are overestimated. Reactive meningitis causes a change in the quality characteristics of urine. In it you can find traces of protein, as well as blood elements.

After confirming the diagnosis, whether it is a child or an adult, hospitalization and intensive care is necessary.

Treatment involves finding the patient in a hospital setting. He is injected intravenously with sodium salt solutions to prevent dehydration, as well as plasma substitutes to reduce the activity of bacteria. Reactive meningitis often accompanies acute adrenal insufficiency. In such cases, corticosteroids are prescribed. If cramps and muscle spasms are observed among the symptoms, antispasmodics and muscle relaxants are included in the treatment regimen.

To suppress the activity of pathogenic bacteria, antibiotic therapy is performed. Drugs that are active against infection are administered strictly according to the clock in the doses prescribed by the doctor. For meningitis, the penicillin group is most often used, as well as cephalosporins and macrolides.

Since the symptoms grow quite rapidly and the patient's condition worsens, medications are administered intravenously, and only when they improve, they switch to drugs in tablets. To prevent cerebral edema, diuretics (most often "Furosemide") are prescribed. If the symptoms are already obvious, Sorbilact is administered as part of the infusion therapy.

Vaccination is the mainstay of meningitis prevention. Of course, it cannot fully guarantee safety, but it reduces the risk of infection. During epidemics, it is recommended to refrain from visiting crowded places, and also adhere to a number of simple rules:

observe the rules of personal hygiene;
if you suspect infection, immediately contact a medical institution;
leaving the familiar area, study the epidemiological situation;
avoid contact with carriers of the infection.

Since the household route of transmission of pathogenic bacteria is quite common, it is recommended to avoid the use of personal hygiene items in conjunction with other persons so as not to get sick.

Forecast

Reactive meningitis is fatal if left untreated. Only a patient who seeks help on time can count on a favorable result. The prognosis for recovery largely depends on the general condition of the body, the presence of concomitant diseases and the age of the patient.

It is easier for middle-aged people to cope with the disease than the elderly and children who have reduced body defenses.

In infants, the disease develops so rapidly that therapy in most cases does not guarantee full recovery. If the child is saved, severe complications such as blindness, paralysis and developmental delays often occur.

Only a timely visit to a medical facility increases the chances of recovery and helps prevent premature death from cerebral edema.

Reactive meningitis is an acute infectious inflammatory disease of the brain and spinal cord. It occurs in people of any age, but most often premature newborns, people with back injuries, head injuries and diseases of the central nervous system are ill.

A feature of this disease is its suddenness, spontaneity, transience. Therefore, it is also called "fulminant meningitis" - it can kill adults in one day, and small children in a few hours. This is what distinguishes it from other forms of meningitis.

Causes of the disease

The causative agent of the disease is meningococcal bacillus, which is spread by airborne droplets. Therefore, you can become infected by visiting a clinic, while driving in transport, a store, and so on.

For children attending kindergartens, there is a chance of getting an infection there during an epidemic. In addition to meningococcal bacillus, the cause of the lesion can be an enterovirus infection or other types.

Measles, rubella, and mumps can provoke reactive meningitis. The provocateurs of the disease are otitis media, sinusitis, furunculosis, lung abscess and other purulent diseases, as well as the presence of traumatic brain injury and back injury. Premature and debilitated babies are also at risk.

Features of the disease in children

In young children, the disease can develop in utero if the mother is already sick with meningitis or another disease that provoked the corresponding infection in the newborn.

Reactive meningitis in children strikes a child with lightning speed and can be fatal within a few hours. In all cases, there are complications that can occur immediately or arise later.

Symptoms of the disease

Reactive meningitis presents with the following characteristic symptoms:

Adults and children tend to lie in the pose of a "cop dog": pressing their legs to their stomach, and throwing their head back, all this happens while lying on its side. This is also one of the signs of meningitis.

How is the diagnosis made

An accurate diagnosis can only be made with a lumbar puncture. Only this study can distinguish meningitis from others with similar symptoms.

But such a study takes time, so blood is urgently taken for general and biochemical analysis. In addition, an examination of the fundus, EEG, X-ray of the skull, CT and MRI is carried out.

An accurate diagnosis of a patient is based on three main features: specific symptoms of meningitis, signs that indicate infection of the patient, and changes in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Health care

Reactive meningitis is treated only in a hospital, most often in the intensive care unit. For small patients and adults, the principle of treatment is almost the same, there can only be prescriptions of different groups of antibiotics, but this depends on the patient's well-being and the response of his body to the drug. Young patients always have complications that occur immediately with the disease or later.

The goal of therapy is to prevent cerebral edema and unfortunate consequences for the patient, as well as to start treatment as early as possible.

Immediately, treatment with antibiotics of a wide spectrum of effects, with the highest possible doses, begins. For this, drugs from the groups of penicillins, cephalosporins and macrolides are used.

In 20% of cases, the cause of the disease is never identified, therefore, antibiotics are immediately prescribed that act on all harmful microorganisms.

If the patient's condition worsens, the drug can be injected into the spinal canal. The course of antibiotics is prescribed for a period of at least 10 days, but if there are purulent foci in the region of the brain, then the course is extended.

If the drugs used: Penicillin, Ceftriaxone and Cefotaxime do not help, and the patient faces fatal complications, then Vancomycin and Carbapenem are used, which have serious side effects.

In addition, therapy is carried out to relieve symptoms with the following drugs:

antispasmodics and muscle relaxants - relieving cramps and muscle spasms;
glucocorticoids - improving the work of the adrenal glands;
Furosemide - prevention of cerebral edema;
Sorbilact - if there is already edema;
for general therapy, saline solutions, plasma substitutes, and antipyretics are administered with the help of droppers.

In the first hours of treatment, all drugs are administered intravenously - this is how the drug works most effectively, helping to avoid the occurrence of toxic shock. It is on time that the treatment started will help to cope with the disease without serious consequences for the patient.

Before the ambulance arrives, the patient needs to provide physical and mental peace, to create maximum comfort, because all his senses are heightened.

It is necessary to close the windows with curtains, isolate from noise and screaming, to reduce pain, put ice or rags soaked in cold water on your head, arms to elbows and legs to knees, changing them as you warm up. The patient can be given a drug for headache.

Complications and prognosis

With reactive meningitis, the prognosis can be favorable for middle-aged people if treatment is started promptly. For infants and the elderly, treatment often does not bring any effect, since the course of the disease passes rapidly, symptoms and complications arise on an increasing basis.

Probable complications of fulminant meningitis are:

DIC - the formation of clots in the blood, spots on the skin merge into one spot, gangrene can begin on the hands and feet, as well as blood accumulations in the mouth, eyes and sclera;
mental retardation in children;
paralysis;
deafness;
septic shock;
blindness;
decrease in sodium ions in the blood.

If all treatment points are met, mortality from reactive meningitis occurs in 10% of all cases.

The main point of prevention of fulminant meningitis is vaccination, however, vaccination does not guarantee complete protection against infection.

In addition, crowded places should be avoided, especially during an epidemic. Patients with meningitis should be isolated from healthy ones by sending them to a hospital. All personal hygiene procedures must be strictly followed. Going on a trip or trip, study the situation with infections in the area.

If you find symptoms similar to meningitis in yourself or those close to you, you should urgently consult a doctor, and it is better to call an ambulance. Only timely and correct treatment gives a chance to avoid death or serious consequences for the patient.

Reactive meningitis is the most dangerous form of infectious disease that affects the spinal cord and brain. Anyone can suffer from this inflammation, but premature newborn babies, persons with head injuries, back injuries, and also lesions of the nervous system are most susceptible to it.

A feature of reactive meningitis is its spontaneity, unexpectedness. The clinic proceeds rapidly and rapidly. If medical assistance was provided too late, the patient falls into a coma and dies from multiple purulent foci in the brain area. If doctors began to treat reactive meningitis within the first day, the consequences will not be so serious, but they can also threaten a person's life.

Causes of occurrence

Why does reactive meningitis occur and what is it? The causative agents of this infectious disease can be various pathogens, such as staphylococcus, meningococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and others.

The infection routes are as follows:

Hematogenous - from inflammatory foci, the pathogen is brought into the brain with blood.
Contact - a skull injury with infection.
Airborne- when a carrier of infection, or a sick person, coughs and sneezes.
Perineural - the transition of infection to the brain tissue with inflammation of the nerves.
Transplacental- through the placenta to the fetus from the mother.
Lymphogenic - the transfer of infection to the brain through the lymphatic system.

According to statistics, reactive meningitis most often develops as a secondary infection, against the background of an existing meningococcal or streptococcal infection.

Reactive meningitis symptoms

Reactive meningitis develops with lightning speed (1-2 days). The rapid growth of purulent foci and cerebral edema with late help leads to the death of a person.

The characteristic features of reactive meningitis are as follows:

High body temperature (over 39 degrees) and severe chills. A characteristic feature of the disease is temperature spasm. In the first hours of the spread of the infection, the temperature reaches 40 degrees, but it is easily knocked down by antipyretic drugs. However, after a few hours, no medications work.
Intense headache, bursting, over the entire head, aggravated by movement, sudden noise or light stimulus.
Exhausting vomiting, not associated with food intake. It occurs from the first hours of the disease, it is extremely painful for the patient.
Some patients may experience cramps, muscle pain, and severe weakness.
Signs of shock: arterial hypotension, cold skin at a high body temperature, the patient's feet and hands become ashy.
The patient's hands and feet turn gray.
Excitement, anxiety, which appear in the first hours of the illness, are replaced by confusion, prostration and coma. Shortness of breath, hypoxemia, oliguria, and other manifestations of respiratory distress syndrome occur.
Some patients develop a maculopapular rash, which after a while becomes hemorrhagic. Most often it is localized in the area of large joints, on the buttocks, on the hind limbs. However, it can appear in other places as well.
DIC syndrome develops in the absence of adequate treatment and an increase in the manifestations of septic shock. In this case, the rash acquires a necrotic, confluent character, collaptoid spots appear, gangrene of the toes and hands develops, hemorrhages occur in the sclera, mucous membranes of the mouth, conjunctiva, the patient's death occurs from multiple organ failure and refractory septic shock.

In most patients, death from reactive meningitis results from refractory septic shock and multiple organ failure.

Diagnostics

Reactive meningitis can be accurately diagnosed with a lumbar puncture. This is the only way to distinguish it from other diseases with similar clinical picture. Meanwhile, this procedure takes a lot of time, which, often, an infected person does not have.

In addition to examining cerebrospinal fluid, common methods for diagnosing reactive meningitis include:

fundus examination;
electroencephalography;
X-ray of the skull;
nuclear magnetic resonance and computed tomography.

In general, the diagnosis of meningitis can be made only if the patient has three main signs of the disease.

How to treat reactive meningitis

A person with meningeal symptoms needs to be hospitalized urgently.

With reactive meningitis treatment should be immediate and intensive, otherwise death cannot be avoided... Because there is no time to determine the sensitivity of microflora, antibacterial drugs are prescribed empirically, choosing groups that can affect all possible microbes - penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides. With an increase in the severity of the patient's condition, antimicrobial agents are injected directly into the spinal canal.

When cramps and muscle spasms appear, antispasmodics and muscle relaxants are used. When adrenal function decreases, glucocorticoids are prescribed. For the prevention of cerebral edema, furosemide is administered. When the edema has already formed, it is necessary to prescribe sorbilact. In addition, the patient will be injected intravenously with plasma substitutes, saline solutions, antipyretics.

Prevention measures

To protect yourself from reactive meningitis, you need to:

get the appropriate vaccination;
to immediately treat any disease of an inflammatory nature;
avoid contact with infected;
isolate the infected;
carefully observe the rules of personal hygiene;
be careful when in potentially dangerous territory.

Effects

Reactive meningitis is very harmful to human health. Among its consequences: deafness, septic shock, gangrene, blindness, developmental delay in children, incoagulability of blood, death.

Dangerous complications can be avoided by timely contacting a medical institution. Antibiotic therapy gives a positive result in 90% of cases of diagnosis of the disease.

(Visited 555 times, 1 visits today)

Reactive meningitis - what is it?

Many people know about meningitis as a very serious, dangerous disease. But reactive meningitis - what it is and why it appears, not everyone knows. Moreover, an interesting situation has developed on the Russian-language Internet with this term, where this disease is identified with the high rate of its development, compared with the speed, for example, of a jet plane.

The phrase "Reactive meningitis", as you would expect, is associated with the Latin language, and not with terminology from the aerospace industry. In this case, the reactive process should be understood not as the rate of its progression, but as inflammation that develops according to the type of recoil from the main inflammatory process.

Examples of such inflammation are:

reactive arthritis with chlamydial infection of the genitourinary system or intestinal infection
reactive pancreatitis against the background of duodenal ulcer.

At the same time, the role of infectious agents in the development of reactive meningitis fades into the background and aseptic inflammation and autoimmune processes in the meninges come to the fore.

A striking example of aseptic meningitis is drug meningitis. It can be caused by the introduction into the body of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, carbamazepine, isoniazid, penicillin, ciprofloxacin, ranitidine, azathioprine, trimethoprim. When antibiotics, air, chemotherapy drugs, anesthetics are injected into the spinal canal, the lining of the brain can react. In this case, meningitis develops as an allergic hypersensitivity reaction.
In a bacterial or viral process in the body, infectious agents may not penetrate the meninges, but the products of their decay or vital activity cause systemic vascular damage (vasculitis) and reactive pleocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluid. Reactive meningitis can accompany brucellosis, toxoplasmosis, leptospirosis, tuberculosis, syphilis, mycoplasmosis, venereal granuloma, chickenpox, mumps, infectious mononucleosis, HIV, cytomegalovirus infection, poliomyelitis, enterovirus infection.
Post-vaccination reactions are another cause of reactive meningitis. After vaccinations against whooping cough, rabies, measles, poliomyelitis, there were cases of reaction of the meninges.
Against the background of CNS tumors: craniopharygiomas, brain tumors, meningeal leukemia, tumors of the dura mater or sarcoidosis, multiple sclerosis, Behcet's disease, pathological effusion with cells characteristic of changes in meningitis may enter the cerebrospinal fluid.
Extensive ischemic foci (with strokes) often give near themselves reactive changes that can affect the lining of the brain.
Another case of the development of reactive meningitis is the breakthrough of cysts (for example, echinococcal) or brain abscesses, subarachnoid hemorrhages.
The diagnosis of reactive meningitis is often made in premature infants after hypoxia in childbirth, intracranial hemorrhage, when laboratory methods cannot isolate the pathogen, but there is a clinic of meningitis.

Among the bacterial infections that affect the lining of the brain, the most common are: meningococci, pneumococci, streptococci. Meningococcal disease is most often the causative agent of primary meningitis, 20% of which are fatal. Meningococcal disease is classified as one of the most "uncontrollable infections", causing both isolated cases and epidemic outbreaks of the disease.

Reactive meningitis can occur against the background of streptococcal, pneumococcal and other infections, when it enters the meninges with blood flow from the inflammatory focus in the nasopharynx, bronchi, trachea. Usually, the spread of infection occurs when infectious foci appear in the body - pneumonia, otitis media, sinusitis, sinusitis, bronchiectasis, furunculosis, etc.

High body temperature, chills. In patients with reactive meningitis, a two-humped temperature curve is observed, that is, an increase in body temperature of up to 40 degrees at the onset of the disease quickly lends itself to the action of antipyretic drugs, and after a few hours, with a sharp repeated jump in temperature, antipyretics are completely ineffective.
Intense headache bursting, all over the head, aggravated by movement, sudden noise or light stimulus.
Vomit, it occurs from the first hours of the illness, debilitating, multiple, not associated with food intake.
Muscle pain, in young children, clonic-tonic convulsions.
The characteristic symptoms of meningitis are meningeal signs, stiffness of the occipital muscles, Kernig's symptoms, Brudzinsky's symptoms may not always be present all in the complex (see signs of meningitis).
Signs of shock: tachycardia, arterial hypotension, cold skin at high body temperature, feet and hands of the patient acquire an ashy hue.
Excitement, anxiety that appear in the first hours of the illness, change confusion, prostration and coma. Shortness of breath, hypoxemia, oliguria, and other manifestations of respiratory distress syndrome occur.
Some patients die from serious neurological changes caused by increased intracranial pressure.
Leather becomes gray, with meningococcal infection appears and spreads rapidly rash, which is first maculopapular, and then becomes hemorrhagic. The rash is localized most often on the lower extremities, on the body, on the buttocks and in the area of large joints.
DIC syndrome(disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome) develops in the absence of adequate treatment and an increase in the manifestations of septic shock. In this case, the rash acquires a necrotic, confluent character, collaptoid spots appear, gangrene of the toes and hands develops, hemorrhages occur in the sclera, mucous membranes of the mouth, conjunctiva, the patient's death occurs from multiple organ failure and refractory septic shock.

Diagnosis and treatment of reactive meningitis

Any of the signs of meningitis, especially the appearance of rash, fever, catarrhal symptoms, should be suspicious of meningococcal infection. A sick child or adult should be urgently hospitalized for intensive care.

Using the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid by the lumbar puncture method, the causative agent of meningitis is detected, which makes it possible to establish a diagnosis. In the general analysis of blood, an increase in leukocytes, increased ESR. Urine with meningitis is usually dark in color and contains blood elements and protein.

Treatment of meningitis should be carried out in intensive care units immediately, the patient is injected intravenously with saline solutions, plasma substitutes, antipyretics, in acute adrenal insufficiency, it is possible to prescribe corticosteroids, in case of muscle spasms and convulsions - muscle relaxants, antispasmodics, diazepam.

The maximum doses of antibiotics, most often cephalosporins, penicillins or macrolides, are injected intramuscularly strictly according to the clock. When the patient is in shock, all drugs are administered only intravenously. With an increase in the severity of the patient's condition, antimicrobial agents are injected directly into the spinal canal. To avoid cerebral edema, furosemide is prescribed, and in the presence of clinical symptoms of cerebral edema, sorbilact is included in the infusion therapy.

Reactive meningitis: mortal danger and consequences

Causes of the disease

Features of the disease in children

In young children, the disease can develop in utero if the mother is already sick with meningitis or another disease that provoked the corresponding infection in the newborn.

Reactive meningitis in children strikes a child with lightning speed and can be fatal within a few hours. In all cases, there are complications that can occur immediately or arise later.

Symptoms of the disease

Reactive meningitis presents with the following characteristic symptoms:

How is the diagnosis made

An accurate diagnosis can only be made with a lumbar puncture. Only this study can distinguish meningitis from others with similar symptoms.

But such a study takes time, so blood is urgently taken for general and biochemical analysis. In addition, an examination of the fundus, EEG, X-ray of the skull, CT and MRI is carried out.

An accurate diagnosis of a patient is based on three main features: specific symptoms of meningitis, signs that indicate infection of the patient, and changes in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Health care

The goal of therapy is to prevent cerebral edema and unfortunate consequences for the patient, as well as to start treatment as early as possible.

Immediately, treatment with antibiotics of a wide spectrum of effects, with the highest possible doses, begins. For this, drugs from the groups of penicillins, cephalosporins and macrolides are used.

If the drugs used: Penicillin, Ceftriaxone and Cefotaxime do not help, and the patient faces fatal complications, then Vancomycin and Carbapenem are used, which have serious side effects.

In addition, therapy is carried out to relieve symptoms with the following drugs:

antispasmodics and muscle relaxants - relieving cramps and muscle spasms;
glucocorticoids - improving the work of the adrenal glands;
Furosemide - prevention of cerebral edema;
Sorbilact - if there is already edema;
for general therapy, saline solutions, plasma substitutes, and antipyretics are administered with the help of droppers.

Before the ambulance arrives, the patient needs to provide physical and mental peace, to create maximum comfort, because all his senses are heightened.

Complications and prognosis

Probable complications of fulminant meningitis are:

DIC - the formation of clots in the blood, spots on the skin merge into one spot, gangrene can begin on the hands and feet, as well as blood accumulations in the mouth, eyes and sclera;
mental retardation in children;
paralysis;
deafness;
septic shock;
blindness;
decrease in sodium ions in the blood.

If all treatment points are met, mortality from reactive meningitis occurs in 10% of all cases.

The main point of prevention of fulminant meningitis is vaccination, however, vaccination does not guarantee complete protection against infection.

Reactive meningitis

Reactive meningitis is a special and most dangerous form of inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord, characterized by rapid progression, the development of undesirable consequences and the onset of death.

Treatment of the disease is difficult, a sharp deterioration in the patient's well-being, coma or death in this case can occur already several hours after the onset of its first manifestations. Reactive meningitis is a great danger for people with weakened immune systems and young children.

Reactive Meningitis Causes

Meningitis is an infectious disease, its main causative agent is various pathogens, including meningococcus, staphylococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, etc. The main routes of infection:

airborne, by inhalation of bacteria inside;
alimentary, when eating food contaminated with this bacterium;
household, when visiting a public pool, etc.

Secondary reactive meningitis is also an extremely common pathology; as a rule, it occurs against the background of a streptococcal or meningococcal infection in the body. In this case, the primary focus of inflammation can be located in its various systems. So, in young children, meningitis often occurs as a complication of tonsillitis and pneumonia. The prefix "reactive" means in this case that the disease develops rapidly, within 9-10 hours from the moment bacteria penetrate into the brain area. If during this period of time the patient is not provided with qualified assistance, the probability of death is almost 100%.

Reactive meningitis symptoms

The first signs of reactive meningitis it is necessary to know in order to timely distinguish the disease from another, not so dangerous infection and to prevent the onset of irreversible consequences for the patient.

Inflammation of the meninges begins with a severe headache, accompanied by chills and vomiting, indicating a sharp increase in intracranial pressure. The pain can be local in nature, concentrating in the temples, parietal, occipital region. This symptom is aggravated when the body is in an upright position, when walking, turning the head. Vomiting with reactive meningitis, exactly as with other types of this disease, does not depend on food intake, is not accompanied by nausea and does not bring relief.

Another symptom characteristic of brain inflammation is a sharp rise in body temperature to a high level. This temperature is not eliminated by antipyretic drugs, it can be accompanied by hallucinations, delirium, loss of consciousness, convulsions. Each seizure seizure can be fatal for the patient.

Reactive meningitis contributes to the disruption of normal brain function. As a result, a person has confusion, a disorder of coordination of movements, a decrease in muscle tone. In infants, during the development of the disease, a protrusion of the so-called fontanelle usually occurs.

The presence of complications of meningitis can be judged by the following signs:

heart rhythm disorder;
lowering blood pressure;
shortness of breath, breathing disorder;
discoloration of the skin (the skin becomes pale gray), the appearance of a characteristic rash on it;
coma.

In the absence of help, the rash on the patient's body quickly spreads and becomes necrotic. The place of its localization is most often the lower and upper limbs. Necrotic processes on the skin are irreversible and can lead to sepsis or gangrene. In such cases, amputation is often necessary to save the patient's life.

Reactive meningitis treatment

A patient with suspected reactive meningitis should be hospitalized urgently. Treatment is given after diagnosis. It is based on antibiotics (depending on the identified pathogen - penicillins or macrolides), agents whose action is aimed at detoxifying the body (saline, potassium preparations).

When the development of the disease has been prevented, and nothing threatens the patient's life, antipyretic drugs, antihistamines, vitamins can be prescribed, for cerebral edema - diuretics (Furosemide). Antibiotics for reactive meningitis can be combined with hormonal agents (glucocorticoids) aimed at eliminating the inflammatory process, antispasmodic drugs that prevent the occurrence of seizures and muscle spasms.

In the first hours of treatment, all drugs are injected into the patient's body intravenously. In this case, the medicine acts instantly and avoids the development of toxic shock.