Case Report: Bee Sting-Associated Meningitis due to S. aureus

Abstract

S. aureus meningitis usually occurs in the postoperative neurosurgical. There are few cases from the community. We report the case of an 83-year-old woman undergoing alternative therapy for rheumatoid arthritis with bee stings on her knee. She was hospitalized with an allergic reaction after the fourth session. She remained in the hospital for 4 days and was discharged in good general condition. Ten days after discharge, the patient returned to the unit with complaints of headache and fever for 7 days. On admission, she was found to have altered mental status, dysarthria, and meningeal rigidity. A diagnosis of S. aureus bacterial meningitis was made. Treatment with ceftriaxone and oxacillin was administered, and the patient had a favorable outcome. In our report, we describe a case of bacterial meningitis possibly associated with bee stings, because there is a causal relationship between alternative therapy with bee stings and the occurrence of meningitis, and the S. aureus isolated here had a susceptibility profile compatible with community germs. This study is relevant because there are no reports in the literature describing bacterial meningitis due to S. aureus as a result of patient exposure to bee stings.