Cefotaxime monotherapy of bacterial meningitis caused by gram-positive pathogens.

Primary meningitis in children is caused by two gram-negative bacterial species, Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae, and one gram-positive bacterial species Streptococcus pneumoniae. Despite optimal penicillin susceptibility, with few exceptions, therapeutic results in pneumococcal meningitis are by far worse than with the other two pathogens. Therefore, and because of the detection of penicillin-resistant rods, the study of alternatives in therapy is justified and was started with cefotaxime. Including six of our own patients, there are reports on 87 patients in the literature suffering from S. pneumoniae meningitis who were treated with cefotaxime monotherapy. Results of these studies will be analyzed. As none of these patients belonged to a prospective controlled study group, final evaluation in comparison with penicillin therapy remains open. There are also several reports on successful treatment of group B streptococcus meningitis with cefotaxime, although there is no need to abandon penicillin therapy. Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis meningitis, usually secondary in shunted hydrocephalus, brain tumors, brain injury or other causes, should not be treated with cefotaxime because of its limited activity on these bacteria. Listeria monocytogenes and Streptococcus faecalis are primarily cefotaxime-resistant, and neonatal meningitis of unknown origin, therefore, should not be treated with cefotaxime alone as long as these pathogens cannot be excluded.