meningitis
Sign in to saveMeningitis () is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and occasionally photophobia. Other symptoms include confusion or altered consciousness, nausea, and an inability to tolerate loud noises. Young children often exhibit only nonspecific symptoms, such as irritability, drowsiness, or poor feeding. A non-blanching rash (a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it) may also be present.
AI overview
Meningitis is an inflammation of the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, causing symptoms like fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, and vomiting. It matters because it can be serious and life-threatening, and early recognition through its warning signs is important for getting prompt medical treatment.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Medical condition.name
- Meningitis
- Medical condition.image
- Meninges-en.svg
- Medical condition.caption
- Meninges of the central nervous system: dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater
- Medical condition.field
- Infectious disease, neurology
- Medical condition.symptoms
- Fever, headache, neck stiffness
- Medical condition.complications
- Deafness, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, cognitive deficits
- Medical condition.causes
- Bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, non-infectious, and other
- Medical condition.diagnosis
- Lumbar puncture
- Medical condition.differential
- Encephalitis, sepsis, brain tumor, lupus, Lyme disease, seizures, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, naegleriasis
- Medical condition.prevention
- Vaccination
- Medical condition.medication
Article
31 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Clinical features
- Early complications
- Causes
- Bacterial
- Viral
- Fungal
- Parasitic
- Non-infectious
- Mechanism
- Diagnosis
- Lumbar puncture
- Postmortem
- Prevention
- Bacterial
- Vaccination
- Antibiotics
- Management
- Bacterial meningitis
- Antibiotics
- Fluid therapy
- Steroids
- Adjuvant therapies
- Viral meningitis
- Fungal meningitis
- Prognosis
- Epidemiology
- History
- See also
- References
- External links
Meningitis () is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and occasionally photophobia. Other symptoms include confusion or altered consciousness, nausea, and an inability to tolerate loud noises. Young children often exhibit only nonspecific symptoms, such as irritability, drowsiness, or poor feeding. A non-blanching rash (a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it) may also be present.
The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. Non-infectious causes include malignancy (cancer), subarachnoid hemorrhage, chronic inflammatory disease (sarcoidosis) and certain drugs. Meningitis can be life-threatening because of the inflammation's proximity to the brain and spinal cord; therefore, the condition is classified as a medical emergency. A lumbar puncture, in which a needle is inserted into the spinal canal to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), can diagnose or exclude meningitis.