ABSTRACT

Meningitis caused by fungi are rarely seen. Mortality and morbidity rates are still high among cases with fungal meningitis despite the developments in antimicrobial treatments and other supportive procedures. In this report, a 22-year-old male admitted to hospital with a treatment-resistant headache and diagnosed to have fungal meningitis, but lost within three days after starting the antifungal therapy is presented. At autopsy, a purulant exudate was seen covering almost the entire surfaces of brain and meninges; and hyphae histologically consistent with candida albicans were detected especially in the meninges and the walls of the meningeal arteries, and death was determined to be due to fungal meningoencephalitis. The main purpose of presenting this case is to clarify the findings of fungal meningitis at autopsy and highlight the possible legal responsibility due to difficulties in diagnosing such cases.

Keywords: Candida, meningitis, autopsy