Successful treatment of extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii ventriculitis and meningitis with intraventricular colistin after application of a loading dose: a case series.

Treatment results of six post-neurosurgical ventriculitis and meningitis cases caused by extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii after application of an intraventricular loading dose of 500000 IU (40 mg) of colistin followed by a dose of 125000-250000 IU (10-20 mg) every 24-48 h plus parenteral colistin are reported. Simultaneous bacteraemia with an identical Acinetobacter strain was observed in three patients. The mean duration of treatment was 17.2 days (range 15-21 days) and the median time of sterilisation of cerebrospinal fluid was 2.5 days (range 1-5 days). All patients were cured, however one patient presented with chemical meningitis and one with chemical ventriculitis, conditions that clinically and biochemically resemble bacterial meningitis.