PrimaryVentriculitis Following Radiotherapy in a Patient with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Rare Case Report

Source: PubMed Central Open Access, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

Ventriculitis is a severe central nervous system infection with high mortality. We present the case of a 24-year-old male with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who developed primaryventriculitis during hospitalization. He presented with fever, headache, and altered mental status. Due to acute hydrocephalus, an external ventricular drain was inserted, and subsequent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cultures yielded. Despite aggressive intravenous and intrathecal antibiotic therapy, the patient died from septic shock. This case highlights the rapid clinical deterioration associated with Gram-negative bacterial ventriculitis and the management difficulties encountered in immunosuppressed oncological patients, emphasizing the critical nature of this rare but fatal complication.