MANAGEMENT OF MENINGITIS CAUSED BY PENICILLIN-RESISTANT STREPTOCOCCUS-PNEUMONIAE

Since the isolation of the first penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae strain in 1967 (23), there have been many reports of treatment failure in patients with pneumococcal infections caused by strains resistant to penicillin and other antimicrobial agents such as chloramphenicol, macrolides, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and the cephalosporins. As a result, the selection of antimicrobial agents for the treat ment of infections caused by these organisms has become increasingly difficult. In particular, the emergence of pneumococci resistant to broad-spectrum cephalosporins has limited the choices of antibiotics for the treatment of pneumococcal meningitis. This minireview focuses on the specific problems encountered in managing patients with penicillin- and cephalosporin-resistant pneumococcal meningitis and discusses some therapeutic alternatives that have recently been explored.