Encephalocele presenting with bacteremia and meningitis.

ABSTRACT

An encephalocele is a cranial defect that allows brain matter to present in other portions of the skull. We present a case of a 57-year-old female who presented to the ICU with fever and unresponsiveness and was diagnosed with meningitis, bacteremia, and pneumonia. After diagnostic imaging was performed, a nasofrontal encephalocele was found and corrected via surgical intervention. The patient's nasofrontal encephalocele caused a predisposition for opportunistic infections due to the exposed and unprotected brain matter, which caused a simple case of sinusitis to turn into a life-threatening case of meningitis and bacteremia.