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Infantile Meningitis Due to Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter Baumannii: A Case Report Highlighting Treatment Challenges

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Acinetobacter baumannii (A.baumannii), a multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterium that has become a significant healthcare-associated pathogen, can infrequently cause severe infections of newborns' central nervous systems.Management of these conditions becomes difficult due to poor clinical outcomes with increasing resistance of organisms to commonly used antibiotics.We discuss a case of a one-month-old male infant who presented with fever, respiratory distress, and an enlarging head circumference as a complication of bacterial meningitis.On examination, he was found to be lethargic and febrile and had a head circumference of 38 cm.A computed tomography (CT) brain scan showed gross hydrocephalus, after which he underwent a diagnostic and therapeutic ventricular tap.The culture grew MDR A. baumannii, and he was treated with intrathecal colistin administered at each ventricular tap for almost 1.5 months.This case report highlights the rarity of A. baumannii meningitis in infants and the therapeutic challenges posed by increasing multidrug resistance, particularly in resource-limited settings, with implications for infection control and antibiotic stewardship.

Source: Cureus

DOI: 10.7759/cureus.118724