Infections of the Central Nervous System
Infections of the Central Nervous System
This study is to describe the incidence of infectious meningitis and/or encephalitis, and to
 analyze clinical, diagnostic and treatment characteristics of patients with suspected (and
 subsequently verified and not verified) infection.
The specific aims of the study include:

 1. To assess the incidence, the diagnostic workup, and the treatment characteristics of
 patients with suspected and confirmed ME.

 2. To examine clinical differences between patients with initially suspected and confirmed
 infectious Meningitis (ME) versus those with suspected but not confirmed infectious ME.

 3. To evaluate potentially prognostic factors for pathological CT findings (especially
 expanding cerebral mass lesions) in patients with suspected infectious ME.

 4. To identify a specific group of patients that benefit from cranial CT prior to LP.

 5. To examine possible complications (e.g., hematoma, postpuncture headache, cerebral
 herniation, …) of lumbal punction (LP) and their correlations to pathologic signs on
 cranial CT.

 6. To compare the outcome between patients with suspected infectious ME and cranial CT
 prior to LP versus patients without prior cranial CT.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  suspected or confirmed infectious meningitis and/or encephalitis as principal and/or
 secondary diagnosis from January 2006 to December 2017

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  patients with the diagnosis of meningitis/encephalitis confirmed prior to hospital
 admission