Aspergillus meningitis following spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Rodrigo, N.; Perera, K.N.T.; Ranwala, R.; Jayasinghe, S.; Warnakulasuriya, A.; Hapuarachchi, S.

doi:10.1016/j.ijoa.2006.06.010

« Previous Next »International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia
Volume 16, Issue 3 , Pages 256-260, July 2007

Aspergillus meningitis following spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Accepted 16 June 2006. published online 02 April 2007.

N. Rodrigo, Consultant Anaesthetist, K.N.T. Perera, Registrar in Anaesthesiology, Colombo Group of Hospitals; R. Ranwala, Consultant Neuro-anaesthetist, National Hospital of Sri Lanka; S. Jayasinghe, Consultant Anaesthetist, De Zoysa Maternity Hospital; A. Warnakulasuriya, Consultant Anaesthetist in charge, Castle Street Hospital for Women; S. Hapuarachchi, President, College of Anaesthesiologists of Sri Lanka.

Summary

We report six cases of Aspergillus meningitis after spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section administered in June and July 2005. Three patients died before a fungal infection was confirmed at the first post-mortem examination in August. Thereafter anti-fungal therapy was successful in saving the lives of the other three patients. Some syringes and spinal needles supplied to the hospitals concerned were found to be contaminated with Aspergillus fumigatus. Investigators found that medical supply storage facilities were substandard following the influx of donations after the tsunami of December 2004.

Keywords: Aspergillus meningitis, Fungal meningitis, Iatrogenic meningitis, Spinal anaesthesia complications