Listeria meningitis: report of ten recent cases and review of current therapeutic recommendations

Abstract

Ten cases of meningitis due to Listeria monocytogenes were admitted to three hospitals in Berlin between 1978 and 1983. One patient was a premature infant in whom meningitis was diagnosed as part of typical granulomatosis infantiseptica. Another presented with signs of brainstem encephalitis which was confirmed post mortem. Positive blood cultures were obtained from five of the patients. Two strains of listeria were resistant and one was only moderately sensitive to penicillin. The three most recently isolated strains were tested for sensitivity to the third generation cephalosporins. All were resistant to latamoxef, and two were resistant to cefotaxime. The implications of these findings for the empirical treatment of purulent meningitis are discussed.