Hospitalists Urged to Watch for Fungal Meningitis Cases in Midst of National Outbreak
A national outbreak of fungal meningitis tied to contaminated steroids in epidural injections should make hospitalists vigilant with patients who present potential symptoms, says an infectious-disease (ID) specialist.
Earlier this month, health officials linked the outbreak to tainted batches of steroids used in spinal injections, and they say it could be weeks, or even months, before they know whether the incubation period for the disease is over, according to The New York Times.
“The key in my mind is that hospitalists ought to have a high index of suspicion for this right now,” says hospitalist and ID expert James Pile, MD, FACP, SFHM, of the Cleveland Clinic. “If you encounter a patient you think may have meningitis, may have a brain stem stroke, may have an epidural abscess or vertebral osteomyelitis…at least think and ask the patient, or their family member, ‘Did you receive an epidural steroid injection recently?'”
The answer to that question will help determine the best care delivery for hospitalists, and physicians should not rely on patients to relay the information without being asked for it, Dr. Pile says.
The outbreak has been traced to three contaminated batches of methylprednisolone produced by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. The company, which is under criminal investigation, has been linked to at least 25 deaths and more than 317 infected patients. Although 14,000 people might have been injected with the contaminated compound, CDC officials say the likelihood of infection remains relatively low.
Dr. Pile says that while hospitalists might see only a handful of fungal meningitis cases in their careers, they still need to keep the possibility in mind when examining patients. It’s a safe approach to take, particularly as the CDC continues to investigate the extent of the outbreak. The CDC has advised against antifungal prophylaxis or presumptive treatment of exposed asymptomatic patients without a diagnosed case of meningitis.
“This is just unfolding so quickly, it’s a moving target,” Dr. Pile adds. “How big it ends up being and what kinds of new or unusual manifestations present remain to be seen.”