Outbreak of meningitis due to Serratia marcescens after spinal anaesthesia

G Ersoz; M Uguz; G Aslan; E S Horasan; A Kaya

doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2014.03.004

Outbreak of meningitis due to Serratia marcescens after spinal anaesthesia

J Hosp Infect. 2014 Jun;87(2):122-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2014.03.004. Epub 2014 Apr 3.

Authors

G Ersoz¹, M Uguz², G Aslan³, E S Horasan², A Kaya²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases, Mersin University, School of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Infectious Diseases, Mersin University, School of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey.
³ Department of Microbiology, Mersin University, School of Medicine, Mersin, Turkey.

PMID: 24814159
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2014.03.004

Abstract

This article describes an outbreak of meningitis caused by Serratia marcescens in patients who had undergone spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section. Bacterial meningitis was diagnosed in 12 of the 46 patients who underwent a caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia in a 75-bed private hospital between 6(th) and 14(th) March 2011. S. marcescens was isolated from samples taken from four prefilled syringes and one bag containing 5% dextrose with norepinephrine, suggesting that medications used in spinal anaesthesia were contaminated extrinsically. Strategies for prevention of anaesthesia-associated infections in operating theatres are discussed.

Keywords: Infection control; Meningitis; Outbreak; Serratia marcescens; Spinal anaesthesia.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Anesthesia, Spinal / adverse effects*
Disease Outbreaks*
Drug Contamination
Female
Humans
Male
Meningitis / epidemiology*
Meningitis / microbiology
Serratia Infections / epidemiology*
Serratia Infections / microbiology
Serratia marcescens
Young Adult