In suspected cases of meningitis / meningococcal septicaemia treat IMMEDIATELY. Do not wait for sensitivity results.
Take cultures
|
Organism |
IV treatment |
Duration |
|
Bacterial meningitis |
Ceftriaxone 2g every 12 hourly |
7-10 days |
|
Listeria meningitis - suspected or confirmed |
Amoxicillin 2g every 6 hours plus gentamicin 5mg/kg (see protocol) |
10-14 days |
|
Viral encephalitis |
Aciclovir 10mg/kg every 8 hours* |
14-21 days |
*For
patients with renal impairment refer to section 23 for dosage adjustments
NOTES:
In obese patients dose of aciclovir
should be based on lean body weight (See treatment of viral
infections section 17)
Consult microbiology if penicillin allergy.
Review on the advice of microbiology.
For close contacts of meningococcal or haemophilus infections, prophylaxis will be arranged by the Department of Public Health Medicine where the patient is resident. It should only be given to hospital staff in exceptional circumstances, e.g. when mouth-to-mouth resuscitation has been performed.
Important
Please ensure cephalosporins are
clearly written on the prescription chart and take care that the
correct drug is administered as the names and packaging are often
very similar.