What links have been discovered between brain inflammation and
staphylococcus aureus and what researcher or clinician is on the
forefront of the issue? I have done a basic Google search and
discovered mention of "small colony variants of SA" that may play a
role in brain inflammation. Urgent request; young child in serious
condition. Thank you. |
Request for Question Clarification by
nancylynn-ga
on
17 Feb 2004 12:42 PST
Have the doctors used the term "meningitis," which is inflammation of the brain.
Also, have the doctors said if they've found S. aureus anywhere else
in the child's system: in the upper and/or lower airways,
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and stomach?
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Clarification of Question by
aw91001-ga
on
17 Feb 2004 13:56 PST
Thank you for taking this on. No, meningitis has not been mentioned.
Here is the history in a nutshell:
2 1/2 year old girl, adopted at 11 months from Russia. Vibrant, healthy.
March 2003 - suddenly lost ability to move her mouth and went into
seizures. 31-day hospital stay. Diagnosed as herpes simplex
encephalitis. Regained all abilities except speech. Medication:
cyclavir, still taking.
December 2003 - Sudden seizures. One-week hospital stay. Initially
diagnosed as a recurrence. Head of pediatric neurology at OHSU brought
in; he disagress, however he and a host of other top neurologists are
claiming to have never seen her precise type of brain inflammation and
want to do a brain biopsy since the inflammation is so agressive. They
say, "This is blowing us out of our seats. If you asked each of us
what it is, we would each have a different answer."
In the meantime, it has come to our attention that sometimes a staph
infection can go awry, particularly when a child had a congenital
heart condition, and cause brain inflammation. As it turns out, she
was hospitalized at birth with a heart condition of some kind.
This was mentioned to the primary doctor this morning; she
acknowledged the possibility and agreed to look into it.
The child's MRIs are such that doctors look at it and expect her to be
losing milestones and heading for imminent disaster; yet she is
developing and full of life, except for her speech and minor motor
jerkiness.
As for your question about finding staph in her system, they
apparently have not checked for that precisely.
Your help is enormously appreciated. Jan
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Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
17 Feb 2004 17:09 PST
Hello there, and let me wish you and yours best of luck.
I found a relevant article, and rather than hold off on posting it
until I (possibly) had an answer for you, I wanted to make it
available right off.
If I find enough additional information that seems on-topic, I will
post an answer to your question. In the mean time, here is what I
have so far:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12621510&dopt=Abstract
Bone Marrow Transplant. 2003 Jan;31(1):65-7.
Successful treatment of meningoencephalitis caused by
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with intrathecal
vancomycin in an allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplant
recipient.
Matsubara H, Makimoto A, Higa T, Kawamoto H, Kanda Y, Kami M, Tanosaki
R, Mineishi S, Ohira M, Takaue Y.
Divisions of Pediatric Oncology, National Cancer Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a common
infectious pathogen during stem cell trans-plantation. We report a
case of meningoencephalitis with multiple abscess formation caused by
MRSA, which occurred in a 4-year-old boy soon after allogeneic
peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. We successfully cured the
infection with a combination of intravenous and intrathecal
vancomycin.
==========
One of your doctors should be able to easily obtain the full article
and/or contact the researchers in Japan is it seems appropriate.
Regards,
pafalafa-ga
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Request for Question Clarification by
crabcakes-ga
on
17 Feb 2004 18:27 PST
Hi aw91001,
I empathize with your worries and feel for your little girl!
Does this child have any indwelling catheters or shunts? You say she
had a heart condition previously. Staph Aureus is commonly inplicated
in endocarditis, and some people harbor this bacteria in their nares.
Has anyone cultured your daughter's nose or run blood tests for Staph
Aureaus antibodies or blood cultures? Has this child has an LP (Spinal
Tap)?
Can you tell us why you may suspect staph? Has she had a bone marrow
transplant or stem cell transplant? Has she ever had renal dialysis?
Finally, where are you located-Country, state? I don't mean to pester
you with questions, but the more we know, the more information we can
find for you.
Thank you!
Regards, crabcakes-ga
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Clarification of Question by
aw91001-ga
on
19 Feb 2004 10:11 PST
Thank you to all who have contributed to this dilemma. I can't even
recall if I have posted this yet, but in case I haven't, Allison is
scheduled for the brain biopsy this afternoon. Hopefully we will know
something then. Again, thank you. Jan
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