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Bacterial meningitis and COVID-19: a complex patient journey

A woman in her 70s presented to the emergency department with fever, fluctuating cognition and headache. A detailed examination revealed neurological weakness to the lower limbs with atonia and areflexia, leading to a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis, alongside a concurrent COVID-19 infection. The...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hurn, Eliot, Dickinson, Lauren, Abraham, Jijee Annie
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BMJ Publishing Group 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7938971/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33674294
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-239533
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author Hurn, Eliot
Dickinson, Lauren
Abraham, Jijee Annie
author_facet Hurn, Eliot
Dickinson, Lauren
Abraham, Jijee Annie
author_sort Hurn, Eliot
collection PubMed
description A woman in her 70s presented to the emergency department with fever, fluctuating cognition and headache. A detailed examination revealed neurological weakness to the lower limbs with atonia and areflexia, leading to a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis, alongside a concurrent COVID-19 infection. The patient required critical care escalation for respiratory support. After stepdown to a rehabilitation ward, she had difficulties communicating due to new aphonia, hearing loss and left third nerve palsy. The team used written communication with the patient, and with this the patient was able to signal neurological deterioration. Another neurological examination noted a different pattern of weakness to the lower limbs, along with new urinary retention, and spinal arachnoiditis was identified. After more than 10 weeks in the hospital, the patient was discharged. Throughout this case, there were multiple handovers between teams and specialties, all of which were underpinned by good communication and examination to achieve the best care.
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spelling pubmed-79389712021-03-21 Bacterial meningitis and COVID-19: a complex patient journey Hurn, Eliot Dickinson, Lauren Abraham, Jijee Annie BMJ Case Rep Case Report A woman in her 70s presented to the emergency department with fever, fluctuating cognition and headache. A detailed examination revealed neurological weakness to the lower limbs with atonia and areflexia, leading to a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis, alongside a concurrent COVID-19 infection. The patient required critical care escalation for respiratory support. After stepdown to a rehabilitation ward, she had difficulties communicating due to new aphonia, hearing loss and left third nerve palsy. The team used written communication with the patient, and with this the patient was able to signal neurological deterioration. Another neurological examination noted a different pattern of weakness to the lower limbs, along with new urinary retention, and spinal arachnoiditis was identified. After more than 10 weeks in the hospital, the patient was discharged. Throughout this case, there were multiple handovers between teams and specialties, all of which were underpinned by good communication and examination to achieve the best care. BMJ Publishing Group 2021-03-05 /pmc/articles/PMC7938971/ /pubmed/33674294 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-239533 Text en © BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usageThis article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.
spellingShingle Case Report
Hurn, Eliot
Dickinson, Lauren
Abraham, Jijee Annie
Bacterial meningitis and COVID-19: a complex patient journey
title Bacterial meningitis and COVID-19: a complex patient journey
title_full Bacterial meningitis and COVID-19: a complex patient journey
title_fullStr Bacterial meningitis and COVID-19: a complex patient journey
title_full_unstemmed Bacterial meningitis and COVID-19: a complex patient journey
title_short Bacterial meningitis and COVID-19: a complex patient journey
title_sort bacterial meningitis and covid-19: a complex patient journey
topic Case Report
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7938971/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33674294
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-239533
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