neonatal meningtis

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Can anyone tell me what can neonatal meningitis in a 3 week baby lead to? What can be the side effects even after receiving antibiotics in hospital?

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There is a baby with neonatal meningitis currently in hospital. She is currently receiving antibiotics for 21 days. He mother wants to know what are the side effects after the treatment in hospital. What do I tell her? Any assistance from anyone out there who has dealt with these issues?

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Welcome to AN! The largest online nursing community!

Is this for school? What semester are you in?

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
There is a baby with neonatal meningitis currently in hospital. She is currently receiving antibiotics for 21 days. He mother wants to know what are the side effects after the treatment in hospital. What do I tell her? Any assistance from anyone out there who has dealt with these issues?
You tell her she needs to speak with the attending...that is his/her job to explain complications/treatment options.
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Specializes in NICU.

In general, neonatal meningitis has a high risk of neurodevelopmental delays (even with adequate antibiotic treatment), some of them quite severe. Infants usually have a brain MRI after treatment to look at white matter injury.

No drug is without its side effects and most drugs in the NICU are off-label due to lack of research. The side effects would depend on the drug, duration, dose, and the baby themselves. Ultimately, the antibiotics are saving the baby's life which is hard to reconcile with discontinuing them due to side effects.

More specific information than this really needs to be individualized to the infant's history, physical exam, and microbiology findings and that's more appropriate to ask the providers who are in charge of the infant.

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Specializes in NICU.

Are you a care provider for this baby? Or a nursing student? Or do you know this family personally? Per the TOS of this site, we are unable to give medical advice. I would concur that the mother of the baby should discuss he concerns with the attending physician.

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