Background: We describe a case of pan-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa postsurgical meningitis associated with the presence of an external ventricular device. We changed therapy twice; finally, by using amikacin and a continuous infusion of cefepime, we obtained clinical improvement.
Case presentation: A female patient, who underwent surgery for a cavernous angioma, presented with meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid culture revealed a multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, initially sensitive only to colistin. We successfully used intrathecal amikacin and intravenous cefepime continuous infusion plus intravenous amikacin after two previous ineffective therapeutic approaches.
Conclusion: The evaluation of the antibiotic concentration and the bactericidal activity in cerebrospinal fluid may contribute to the choice of the drug in cases of multidrug-resistant meningitis.
Keywords: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; amikacin; pan-resistant meningitis.