Meningeal syndrome

Meningeal syndrome is a clinical symptom complex of stimulation of the meninges, characterized by the presence of meningeal symptoms with or without changes in the pressure and composition of the cerebrospinal fluid.

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What causes meningeal syndrome?

Meningeal syndrome can be caused by an inflammatory process. Caused by various microbial flora (meningitis, meningoencephalitis) or non-inflammatory lesions of the brain membranes. In these cases, the term "meningism" is used. In case of inflammation, the etiologic factor may be bacteria (bacterial meningitis), viruses (viral meningitis), fungi (fungal meningitis), protozoa (toxoplasmosis, amoeba).

For differential diagnosis between inflammatory lesions of the membranes of the brain and meningism, it is necessary to study the cerebrospinal fluid obtained with spinal puncture.

What causes meningeal syndrome?

Symptoms of meningeal syndrome

The term "meningeal syndrome" includes subjective disorders and objective symptoms, determined by examination of the patient.

Cardiac meningeal symptom is a headache characterized by considerable intensity (the patients groan, grab at the head, the children scream), diffuse (the whole head hurts) and the feeling of bursting. Patients undergo pressure on the eyes, ears, back of the head. Headache can be accompanied by pain in the neck and along the spine, amplified by changing the position of the body, loud sounds, bright light. With a primary lesion of the spinal cord, the headache may be mild. It decreases after taking loop diuretics, after the evacuation of cerebrospinal fluid during the execution of spinal puncture.

Symptoms of meningeal syndrome

Classification of meningeal syndrome

Meningeal syndrome is classified according to several criteria.

• In terms of severity:
  • doubtful:
  • weakly expressed;
  • moderately pronounced:
  • pronounced.
• By the presence of all the characteristic symptoms:
  • full;
  • incomplete.

[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11]

Treatment of meningeal syndrome

Treatment of the meningitis syndrome depends on the etiologic factor. With neuroinfections (meningitis, meningoencephalitis), etiotropic therapy is carried out, which is combined with pathogenetic therapy. In the absence of neuroinfection, pathogenetic therapy is performed. Its main areas:

• dehydration using loop and osmotic diuretics;
• detoxification by infusions of crystalloid (polyionic solutions, polarizing solution) and colloidal solutions in a ratio of 2: 1 in a volume of 10 ml / kg of body weight and more:
• analgesics, sedatives.