Intraventricular treatment of Serratia marcescens meningitis with gentamicin. Pharmacokinetic studies of gentamicin concentration in one case.

A neurosurgical patient with postoperative meningitis caused by Serratia marcescens was treated with intraventricular as well as intramuscular gentamicin. Gentamicin concentration in serum and CSF was determined at different times after the administration. Serratia marcescens could not be isolated from CSF after 3 days of therapy. Determination of gentamicin concentrations in CSF showed that gentamicin should not be given intraventricularly more than once a day to avoid accumulation of the drug. No adverse effect was noticed although the CSF concentration reached 450 mug/ml.