Bacterial Meningitis

CASE: A 28-year-old woman was seen in the emergency department of this hospital because of headache, fever, and a rash. The patient had been well until the morning of the day of admission, when she awoke with a severe generalized headache. The headache worsened with movement, was not relieved by acetaminophen or ibuprofen, and was accompanied by nausea and one episode of nonbloody, nonbilious emesis. The patient returned to sleep and awoke again several hours later with diffuse myalgias; her temperature was 37.7°C. At that time, she also noted a rash on her abdomen, chest, and right arm; the lesions were small, red, flat, nonpruritic, and nonpainful. She described these symptoms to her father, a physician, who advised her to go to the emergency department of this hospital.

What clinical and laboratory findings are often associated with bacterial meningitis?
What microbiologic findings are characteristic of Neisseria meningitidis?

Read more:
A Woman with Headache and Fever

Source: NJEM