Subdural fluid complicating bacterial meningitis.

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to draw attention to the frequent occurrence of a complication of bacterial meningitis that we believe may be a significant cause of residual brain damage if it is not recognized and treated early. A preliminary report 1 has already been published elsewhere. Subsequently Smith, Dormont, and Prather 2 reported a series of 20 patients with the same complication of meningitis, Meneghello and Aguilo 3 noted seven cases in Chile, and Arnold 4 recently described five similar cases. As early as 1916, A. B. Schwartz 5 specifically suggested meningitis as one cause of chronic subdural hematoma of infancy. Since that time a number of similar case reports 6 have appeared, but the high incidence of significant amounts of subdural fluid complicating bacterial meningitis in infants has not been generally recognized. This condition appears to be separate from secondarily infected subdural hemorrhage after head injury and