Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-3-2026
Abstract
Healthcare-associated ventriculitis and meningitis (HCAVM) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, but rapid diagnostic tests intended to cover microorganisms that typically cause HCAVM are not commercially available. We sought to evaluate the etiology of HCAVM compared to community-acquired meningitis/encephalitis (CAME) at our healthcare system, and to study the utility of repurposing a multiplex molecular panel intended for positive blood cultures for HCAVM cases. Our epidemiologic review demonstrated that HCAVM cases were primarily caused by bacteria and fungi also associated with bloodstream infections, in contrast with CAME cases, which were primarily caused by herpesviruses and Cryptococcus. Eighty-two cerebrospinal fluid specimens, including 43 from HCAVM cases, were tested using the BioFire Blood Culture Identification 2 panel, with approximately 90% sensitivity when organisms were seen in the Gram stain but only approximately 50% sensitivity when the stain was negative, compared to standard-of-care testing.
Recommended Citation
Nassur, Jaime; Schnell, Katarina; Dolon, Christine; Walters, Laura; Weber, Devin; and Pettengill, Matthew, "Epidemiology of Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis (HCAVM) and Community-Acquired Meningitis/Encephalitis and Evaluation of an Off-Label PCR Panel for HCAVM Diagnosis" (2026). Department of Medicine Faculty Papers. Paper 546.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/medfp/546
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
PubMed ID
41451990
Language
English
Included in
Bacterial Infections and Mycoses Commons, Clinical Epidemiology Commons, Investigative Techniques Commons, Nervous System Diseases Commons, Therapeutics Commons
Comments
This article is the author’s final published version in Microbiology Spectrum , Volume 14, Issue 2, 2026, Pages 1-8.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02770-25. Copyright © 2025 Nassur et al.