Treatment of Neisseria meningitides infections

Treatment

Prompt and specific antimicrobial therapy of meningococce-mia or meningococcal meningitis is most crucial. Intravenous penicillin G is the recommended drug for the treatment of meningococcal disease. The MIC of penicillin usually ranges from 0.01 to 0.05mg/mL against meningococcal isolates.

Chloramphenicol, rifampicin, erythromycin, tetracycline, and cephalosporins (ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, and cefuroxime) are useful in treatment of bacterial meningitis. Ceftriaxone has an additional advantage of eradicating the nasopharyngeal car-riage of meningococci. Chloramphenicol is useful for patients who are allergic to penicillin.

Meningococci are not susceptible to vancomycin and poly-myxin. Meningococci resistant to sulfadiazine (MIC $0.128 mg/mL) have been documented recently.