Abstract

Three newborn infants with meningitis due to Flavobacterium meningosepticum were treated with rifamycin administered parenterally and directly into the cerebral ventricles. Antibiotic concentrations of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were monitored during treatment. There was rapid sterilization of the CSF after this antibiotic. Jaundice was the only toxicity noted. All 3 infants developed hydrocephalus and are shunt dependent. Two of them are otherwise free of neurological complications and are developing normally. Rifamycin is a safe and effective antibiotic in this form of neonatal meningitis.