Escherichia coli meningitis during bacteremia in the Ibrahima-Diop-Mar infectious diseases clinic, Dakar Fann National Hospital Center (Senegal)

Objectives. - The aim of this study was to describe epidemiological, clinical, and bacteriological aspects of Escherichia coli bacteremia and meningitis in the lbrahima-Diop-Mar infectious diseases clinic, Dakar Fann National Hospital Center (Senegal). Materials and methods. - Data was collected from the bacteriology laboratory and hospitalization files. Results. - 57 cases of E. coli bacteremia were reported. Among them, 10 were associated with meningitis. AIDS was diagnosed in 74% of the cases. The global lethality rate was 47% but this rate was higher in cases of associated meningitis (80 vs 37%) and in AIDS patients (50 vs 27%). Ceftriaxone, aztreonam, gentamicin, and ciprofloxacin were active on more than 95% of strains but cotrimoxazole was active on only 49% of the strains. Resistance to cotrimoxazole was higher among E. coli strains isolated from AIDS patients (62 vs 13%). Conclusion. - The low susceptibility to cotrimoxazole might increase the incidence of E. coli infections among patients with AIDS. It is therefore important to find an alternative to cotrimoxazole chemoprophylaxis. (C) 2005 Elsevier SAS. Tous droits reserves.