ROBLES ROMERO, M.; ROJAS CARACUEL, M.A.    PRADO ALVAREZ, C. del. Meningitis after spinal anesthesia and analgesia. []. , 20, 4, pp.186-190. ISSN 1134-8046.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1134-80462013000400007.

The objective of this review is an update on etiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of meningitis after spinal anesthesia and analgesia. Although it is a major complication of this technique and its incidence is low, there are more and more frequent cases in the medical literature. According to its etiology are classified in septic meningitis, viral and aseptic. The septic meningitis are the most common, and its etiology increasingly plays a more prominent role as Streptococcus salivarius agent involved. Aseptic meningitis are classified as those in which cerebrospinal fluid culture is negative, with a latency period of symptoms less than six hours, which may present with eosinophilia in the cerebrospinal fluid and levels close to normal in the CSF glucose. They usually have good response and evolution with antibiotic treatment with vancomycin and third-generation cephalosporins. Prophylaxis influence the aseptic precautions, especially the use of a face mask to perform the technique, as practical to reduce the incidence of bacteria whose origin is in the oral cavity and oropharynx. They could also reduce the incidence of aseptic meningitis measures such as hand washing, use of gloves and skin antisepsis. The differentiation between aseptic meningitis and septic will more securely when standardize techniques for detecting bacterial genome in the cerebrospinal fluid, now labeled as aseptic meningitis those in which cerebrospinal fluid culture is negative and whose negative Gram stain. Although the prognosis and evolution in general features of meningitis after spinal anesthesia and analgesia is good, compared with community-acquired meningitis, the low virulence of the bacteria involved (Streptococcus salivarius), cases have been described with poor outcome suppurative meningoencephalitis have led to death within hours.

: Bacterial meningitis; aseptic meningitis; spinal anesthesia.

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