Definition

• Acute central nervous system (CNS) infections include the following distinct clinical syndromes:
  • Acute bacterial meningitis
  • Nonbacterial meningitis (viral, fungal, mycobacterial, parasitic)
  • Encephalitis
  • Focal infections such as:
    • Brain abscess
    • Subdural empyema
    • Infectious venous thrombosis
• A CNS infection may predominantly involve:
  
  • Subarachnoid space (meningitis)
  • Brain tissue in the cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, or brainstem (encephalitis, generalized or localized)
  • Both the subarachnoid space and brain tissue (meningoencephalitis)
• Focal bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infections involving brain tissue are classified as abscess (capsule present) or cerebritis (capsule absent).
  

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