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Brudzinski's sign of meningitis Kernig's sign of meningitis Lumbar puncture (spinal tap) Meninges of the brain Meninges of the spine Haemophilus influenza organism

Overview Symptoms Treatment Prevention

Meningitis

Symptoms: Fever and chills Severe headache Nausea and vomiting Stiff neck (meningismus) Sensitivity to light (photophobia) Mental status changes Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease: Decreased consciousness Rapid breathing Agitation Opisthotonos (severe neck stiffness, ultimately resulting in a characteristic arched posture-seen in infants or small children) Bulging fontanelles (the soft spots in a baby's skull may bulge) Poor feeding or irritability in children Meningitis is an important cause of fever in newborn children. For this reason, a lumbar puncture is often done on newborns who have a fever of uncertain origin. Signs and tests: Lumbar puncture with CSF glucose measurement and CSF cell count Gram-stain and culture of CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) Chest x-ray to look for other sites of infection Head CT scan looking for hydrocephalus, abscess or deep swelling

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