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A member asked:
What is the definitive blood test for spinal meningitis. if it's spread to tissue how is it best treated? can it be treated with oral antibiotics?
4 doctors weighed in across 2 answers
Meningitis = bad: Meningitis is an infection of the lining of the central nervous system and is diagnosed by a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to test the spinal fluid for infection. No blood test will do it. It generally doesn't spread to tissue unless there are septic emboli, and that would mean the patient was deathly ill. Usually it would need IV antibiotics for some time for this life threatening issue.
Answered 4/27/2015
4.8k views
None/No: There is no blood test that proves meningitis. Lumbar puncture and spinal fluid examination, pcr's and culture are the definitive tests for meningitis. Bacterial meningitis is treated with high dose intravenous antibiotics that have high blood-brain barrier penetration. Meningitis is not treated with oral antibiotics.
Answered 3/29/2018
4.8k views
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