Post-Traumatic Meningitis: Case-Based Review of Literature from Internists’ Perspective

Most cases of post-traumatic meningitis (PTM) occur following immediate head trauma or neurosurgical procedures. Hence, internists do not often come across these patients. However, closed-head trauma can be associated with community-acquired meningitis (CAM), and this history can often be missed especially if it is remote or trivial in nature. Therefore, meticulous clinical assessment is necessary to identify cases of community-acquired PTM. Knowledge about pathophysiological, anatomical, and microbiological context of community-acquired PTM is required in order to manage these patients. The role of internist is to provide holistic management in these patients which includes not only antimicrobial treatment but also timely referral to surgical specialties if required as well as vaccination to prevent further episodes. Here, we present a case of CAM with remote history of close head trauma and cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea for years who was found to have base of skull (BOS) defect on imaging of skull. He was treated with antibiotics and referred to surgical specialties for repair of BOS defect as well as given pneumococcal vaccine to prevent further episodes of meningitis.