Bacterial meningitis is a serious disease that, if not promptly treated, may lead to profound injury and even death. What’s additionally scary is that the disease may progress quickly, sometimes within a few hours. Obviously, timing is critical for treating bacterial meningitis. If a provider fails to recognize the symptoms, or takes too long to address the disease, it may be too late for the patient and a medical malpractice case my unfold.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes protecting the spinal cord and brain; it may be caused by bacteria, a virus, or fungal infection. Left untreated, the inflammation may proceed to sepsis or cause swelling and in turn restricted blood flow to vital parts of the brain and/or spinal cord. Bacterial meningitis may be contracted through bacteria entering the blood stream, or bacteria that attacks the meningis directly. These can develop from respiratory infections, sinus or ear infections, or even (for some folks) consuming unpasteurized foods.
Misdiagnosis occurs across all demographics, but it happens moreso with children and infants. The critical symptoms of meningitis are: stiff neck, fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting. An infant obviously cannot complain of a stiff neck, so a sick child may show symptoms of lethargy, feeding difficulty, vomiting, and some babies may exhibit a bulging fontanelle (space in the skull where the bones have not yet met and fused together).
Once meningitis is on the provider’s differential, he or she can rule it out after the results of a blood draw or a spinal tap come back negative. Treatment at that point is via antibiotics, and again, timing is critical.
Malpractice may occur if the provider diagnoses a patient with the flu or a viral process. A provider may fail to recognize the symptoms, or he or she may fail to order a blood draw or spinal tap. Sometimes the lab results are not returned promptly, or get misreported, or a provider fails to timely follow up on the order. All the while, critical time has been lost in treating the disease.
Given the opportunity, sepsis may set in, causing organ failure; inflammation may restrict blood flow to the brain or spinal cord and cause brain damage or loss of motor function; left unchecked either scenario can lead to death.
It really is critical for a provider to act quickly when he or she suspects bacterial meningitis.
