Listeria meningitis complicated by hydrocephalus in an immunocompetent child: case report and review of the literature
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CASE REPORT
Open Access
Listeria meningitis complicated by hydrocephalus in an immunocompetent child: case report and review of the literature Giacomo Brisca1* , Alberto La Valle1, Claudia Campanello1, Mattia Pacetti2, Mariasavina Severino3, Giuseppe Losurdo4, Antonella Palmieri1, Isabella Buffoni5 and Salvatore Renna1
Abstract Background: Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive bacteria transmitted to human by animal stools, contaminated water and food. In children, Listeria monocytogenes typically affects newborns and immunocompromised patients often leading to invasive syndromes including sepsis, brain abscesses, meningitis, meningoencephalitis and rhombencephalitis. In healthy and immunocompetent children, Listeria meningitis is rare, but can progress rapidly and may be associated with severe complications (hydrocephalus, ventriculitis, cranial nerves palsy and cerebrospinal abscesses) and high mortality rate. Case presentation: We describe a very uncommon case of meningoencephalitis due to Listeria monocytogenes in a 11-month-old immunocompetent girl. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture was positive on the second day. Antibiotic therapy was promptly started but the disease was complicated by neurological deterioration and decompensated hydrocephalus. The child required a very demanding pediatric and neurosurgical management and was discharged after 40 days without major sequelae. Conclusion: Listeria is difficult to isolate and it is not susceptible to first-line treatment for bacterial meningitis with extended-spectrum cephalosporins. Early recognition is therefore crucial for a positive outcome. Pediatricians have to perform close clinical monitoring of these children and be aware of possible complications. A review of all cases of Listeria meningitis complicated by hydrocephalus in healthy children has been performed, to provide an overview on clinical features, treatment options and outcome. Keywords: Listeria monocytogenes, Meningitis, Hydrocephalus, Brain MRI, Case report
* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Pediatric Emergency Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, via Gerolamo Gaslini 5, 16147 Genoa, Italy Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit htt
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