Vertically acquired neonatal citrobacter brain abscess - case report and review of the literature.

Vertically acquired citrobacter meningitis in the neonate is very rare and carries a very high mortality and morbidity. Overall, approximately 30% of neonates with Citrobacter meningitis die and 50% sustain some damage to the CNS. The authors describe a case of a newborn with Citrobacter koseri meningitis with multiple brain abscesses, with a successful outcome following multiple burr-hole aspirations and prolonged antibiotic therapy. An aggressive surgical approach combined with intravenous antibiotics (including imipenems, to which the organism is very sensitive) for a minimum of 4 weeks appears to improve the outcome of infection with this virulent organism.