Escherichia coli spontaneous community-acquired meningitis in adults: A case report and literature review

Gram-negative bacillary meningitis occurring post-trauma and following neurosurgical procedures has been described widely. However, reports of spontaneous cases are sparse, particularly community-acquired cases. Spontaneous community-acquired Escherichia coli meningitis is a rare (although increasingly seen) and specific entity that is poorly reported in the literature. A review of the literature identified only 43 cases of community-acquired E. coli meningitis reported between 1946 and 2016. This article describes two new cases of spontaneous community-acquired E. coli meningitis encountered in Marseille, France, and presents the results of a literature review on spontaneous community-acquired E. coli meningitis.