Listeria meningitis during pregnancy.

Meningitis is the major pathologic manifestation of Listeria monocytogenes in the United States. Despite the fact that this organism has a well-known predilection for individuals who are pregnant or immunocompromised, to date, maternal listeric meningitis remains an unreported entity in the English literature. The authors report two cases of this disease and review the diagnosis and treatment of meningitis in general and, more specifically, of listeric meningitis in pregnancy. It is recommended that the initial treatment of bacterial meningitis during pregnancy should be a combination of ampicillin and gentamicin pending definitive identification of the causative organism and its antibiotic sensitivity pattern.