primary amebic meningoencephalitis

meningoencephalitis

 [mĕ-ning″go-en-sef″ah-li´tis]

inflammation of the brain and its meninges; called also encephalomeningitis.

primary amebic meningoencephalitis a rare and often fatal acute, febrile, purulent meningoencephalitis caused by usually free-living soil and water amebas of the genera Naegleria, Acanthamoeba, and Hartmannella.

Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

pri·mar·y a·me·bic me·nin·go·en·ceph·a·li·tis

an invasive, rapidly fatal cerebral infection by soil amebae, chiefly Naegleria fowleri, found in humans and other primates and experimentally in rodents; the disease is characterized by a high fever, neck rigidity, and symptoms associated with upper respiratory infection such as cough and nausea; although organisms have been cultured from various organs, the brain is the primary focus, especially the olfactory lobes and cerebral cortex, which are first attacked by amebae that enter from nasal mucosa through the cribriform plate; death usually occurs 2-3 days after onset of symptoms.

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primary amebic meningoencephalitis

An intracranial infection by free-living amoebae–eg, Naegleria fowleri, N grubei, Acanthamoeba, Hartmannella, Entamoeba histolytica, etc Clinical Acute, purulent meningoencephalitis–typically by Naegleria spp–in young healthy persons swimming in stagnant, artificial fresh water lakes; inflammation and hemorrhage is most intense along the olfactory tract, inculpating the cribriform plate as the portal of entry via the nose Prognosis Poor; the few Pts who survive are treated with parenteral amphotericin B, miconazole, rifampicin, and have major sequelae; PAM may also be subacute with a granulomatous reaction, a finding more common in immunocompromised hosts

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.