| Meningitis following gunshot wound of the neck. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 14640287 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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It is generally assumed that a missile fired from a gun is subjected to sufficient heat to render it sterilized. For this reason, retained bullets are not usually considered a source of infection. The infectious complications associated with gunshot wounds are typically attributed to perforation of a hollow viscus with leakage of gastrointestinal contents causing peritonitis or intra-abdominal abscess. There are several reports of bacterial meningitis involving the spinal cord in gunshot wounds that perforate the intestine prior to involving the thoracic or lumbar vertebral column; however, there are no published reports of cerebral meningitis resulting from a retained projectile in the spinal canal in which there was no injury to the gastrointestinal tract. This manuscript describes a woman who died as a result of unsuspected acute bacterial meningitis which developed secondary to a gunshot wound of the neck. The projectile fractured the first thoracic vertebra, lacerated the dura and contused the spinal cord at the C7-T1 junction. Meningitis developed at the C7-T1 level and ascended along the cervical spinal cord to the brain. The infection caused acute neurologic deterioration and death four days following the initial injury. |
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Authors:
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Daniel J Spitz; Abderrahman Ouban |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Case Reports; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of forensic sciences Volume: 48 ISSN: 0022-1198 ISO Abbreviation: J. Forensic Sci. Publication Date: 2003 Nov |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2003-11-26 Completed Date: 2004-02-04 Revised Date: 2004-11-17 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0375370 Medline TA: J Forensic Sci Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 1369-70 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Department, Tampa, FL 33602, USA. |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Adult Brain Death Female Humans Meningitis, Bacterial / etiology*, pathology Spinal Diseases / microbiology*, pathology Staphylococcal Infections / etiology*, pathology Wounds, Gunshot / complications*, pathology |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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