Bacterial Infections of the Central Nervous System

Book excerpt: Bacterial Infections of the Central Nervous System aims to provide information useful to physicians taking care of patients with bacterial infections in the central nervous system (CNS), which can lead to morbidity and mortality. The increased number of patients suffering from this infection has led to the development of vaccines and antibiotics. Comprised of four chapters, the book explains the general approach to patients with bacterial CNS infection. It also discusses various CNS infection concepts and terms. These include the characteristic neuroimaging appearance of specific bacterial infections, the limitations of neuroimaging, the cerebrospinal fluid analysis, the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of bacterial CNS infections, the developments of specific adjunctive strategies, and the principles of antimicrobial therapy. It also includes discussions on various diseases that target the CNS, such as meningitis, focal CNS infections, neurological complications of endocarditis, suppurative venous sinus thrombosis, infections in the neurosurgical patient, and CNS diseases caused by selected infectious agents and toxins. This book will serve as a guide for clinical physicians who have patients suffering from bacterial CNS infection.