Pneumococcal Meningitis Complicated by Subarachnoid Hemorrhage and Tonsillar Herniation

Bacterial meningitis is a fatal infectious disease with an annual incidence of four to six cases per 100,000 adults. The most common pathogens associated with this condition are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitides, and Hemophilus influenzae. Mortality rates range between 10 and 40% despite the availability of highly effective antibiotic therapy, and severe neurological damage affects 30-52% of survivors. The causes of death in patients with pneumococcal meningitis are multifactorial and involve both neurological complications such as cerebral edema, hydrocephalus, infarction, and septic sinus or venous thrombosis and systemic complications such as septic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. We present an unfortunate case of a 42-year-old woman with asplenia and sickle cell disease, admitted for pneumococcal meningitis, who developed diffuse cerebral edema leading to tonsillar herniation and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with a fatal outcome. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only case ever reported of meningitis complicated by both SAH and brain herniation.