Meningitis in adults due to infection with Mycoplasma hominis is rarely reported. Here, we document the third case of M. hominis meningitis in an adult individual, developed upon neurosurgery following a subarachnoid haemorrhage. Our findings are noteworthy, because the presence of M. hominis in cerebrospinal fluid cannot be identified by standard culturing, Gram-staining, or matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Importantly, however, 16S rDNA sequencing did lead to an unambiguous diagnosis and guided successful antimicrobial therapy. Based on our present findings and a review of the respective literature, we conclude that M. hominis should be considered as a candidate causative agent of infections of the central nervous system following neurosurgical procedures, especially if there is no response to standard antimicrobial therapy, and routine culturing yields negative results.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.