Nosocomial Meningitis Caused by Multiresistant Enterococcus as a Life-Threatening Complication of Pelvic Injury: Case Report

Bacterial meningitis after pelvic trauma has never been described. We recently treated a patient who developed, during the course of his hospitalization, multiresistant enterococcal meningitis after severe pelvic injury, including a comminutive sacral fracture. Dural tear may have been the main factor leading to secondary infection of the cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment with intravenous continuous infusion of vancomycin plus rifampin, associated with closed subarachnoid drainage, resulted in a complete cure. Therapeutic cerebrospinal fluid levels of vancomycin were obtained only during the first 8 days of treatment. Use of glycopeptides in meningitis and the role of cerebrospinal fluid drainage are discussed. Physicians should be aware of the diagnosis and therapeutic features of this life-threatening complication.