[Fulminant meningoencephalitis due to Listeria monocytogenes].

We present a case of meningoencephalitis due to Listeria monocytogenes type IV in a patient in which the diagnosis of small-cells malignant diffuse non-Hodgkin's lymphoma had been established. He was hospitalized with vague clinical manifestations and without showing any neurological focus. Hours later, he presented clinical brain stem semiology. Within a 24-hour period, Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from blood and cephalorhachidian fluid (being the first time that this microorganism had been isolated for the past 20 years in our laboratory). The patient evolved to a state of coma, with Cheyne-Stokes's respiration, abolition of pupillary reflexes, decerebration position and exitus laetalis. The affection of the central nervous system has been fully documented. However, its fulminant presentation, as in the case that we present here, is less frequent, although it has been described in the literature by other authors, like Finegold et al., with cases in which the interval between the onset of the neurological focality and death ranged from 8 to 16 hours. The antibiogram showed a wide sensibility to several groups of drugs, despite the fast evolution of the disease that prevented the modification of the initial antibiotherapy (Vancomicine and imipenem).