Case history
Case history #1
A 1-month-old girl presents to her primary care physician with a high fever, feeding difficulties, and irritability for the past 24 hours. Examination reveals altered mental status and a bulging fontanel.
Case history #2
An 18-year-old male student presents with severe headache and fever that he has had for 3 days. Examination reveals fever, photophobia, and neck stiffness.
Other presentations
Atypical clinical manifestations tend to occur in very young, older, or immunocompromised patients.[1] In infants the signs and symptoms can be nonspecific and may include fever, hypothermia, hypotonia, hypertonia, irritability, lethargy, poor feeding, seizures, apnea, bulging fontanel, and respiratory distress.[2][3][4] In older adults, often the only presenting sign of meningitis is confusion or an altered mental status.
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