Learn to immediately recognize bacterial meningitis and treat it in time. Without timely treatment, it's almost 100% fatal. Even with our modern diagnostic tools and medications, bacterial meningitis is often misdiagnosed, treatment is delayed, and the outcome is worse than it should be. In this video, you will learn what mistakes are most common in practice, how to avoid them and maximize your patient's chances of recovery. You will learn to recognize the symptoms of bacterial meningitis, what to look for in the physical examination, how to determine the most probable cause, when to order a head CT scan, how to interpret the results of CSF analysis, and how to choose appropriate antibiotics. If you want to learn even more, you will find additional resources in this description.

Lecture summary in PDF:
https://drviktorkotarski.podia.com/le...

If you want to learn how to recognize lifethreatening infections like sepsis and CNS infections as early as possible, I highly recommend you take my free online course!

A Clinical Approach to Serious Infections in Adults: What Every Physician Should Know:
https://drviktorkotarski.podia.com/re...

DISCLAIMER: Please, always keep in mind that my videos are intended for educational purposes only. The content of my videos is NOT medical advice. I do not practice medicine over the internet. If you are a patient and have any questions about your health, please talk to your doctor.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Symptoms of bacterial meningitis
03:31 Altered level of consciousness: never ignore it!
05:48 Causes of bacterial meningitis: clinical clues and telltale signs
08:50 A head CT scan before a lumbar puncture?
11:28 Typical CSF findings in bacterial meningitis
13:00 Gramstain interpretation
13:31 CBC and CRP
14:13 Treatment of bacterial meningitis (antibiotics, dosing, duration)

REFERENCES & RECOMMENDED READING:
1. Beek D van de, Cabellos C, Dzupova O, Esposito S, Klein M, Kloek AT, et al. ESCMID guideline: diagnosis and treatment of acute bacterial meningitis. Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 2016 May 1;22:S37–62.
2. Salazar L, Hasbun R. Cranial Imaging Before Lumbar Puncture in Adults With CommunityAcquired Meningitis: Clinical Utility and Adherence to the Infectious Diseases Society of America Guidelines. Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Jun 15;64(12):1657–62.
3. Tunkel AR, Hartman BJ, Kaplan SL, Kaufman BA, Roos KL, Scheld WM, et al. Practice guidelines for the management of bacterial meningitis. Clin Infect Dis. 2004 Nov 1;39(9):1267–84.
4. van Ettekoven CN, van de Beek D, Brouwer MC. Update on communityacquired bacterial meningitis: guidance and challenges. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2017 Sep;23(9):601–6.