Meningitis as a complication of tonsillectomy

Adenotonsillar surgery remains among the most commonly-performed pediatric surgical procedures. The complication rate of tonsillectomy is generally co nsidered to be in a range of 1-5%. Bacterial meningitis following adenotons illectomy is a rarely reported complication. Bacterial meningitis is a pote ntially fatal acute infectious disease caused by a variety of micro-organis ms. Current case fatality rates associated with this entity can be as low a s 2% in infants and children and as high as 30% in neonates. The successful management of meningitis depends on early clinical suspicion and diagnosis , with prompt medical treatment using high-dose, broad-spectrum antibiotics that adequately cross the blood-brain barrier. We present a case of mening itis complicating a tonsillectomy procedure, in a 7-year-old girl. The diag nosis and treatment of this rare complication is illustrated, and the possi ble etiology is discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All right s reserved.