The CDC is making a distinction between patients exposed to one of 3 lots of methylprednisolone acetate linked to the national meningitis outbreak and other NECC medications. Below are the CDC case definitions for both kinds of patients, first those who had a shot with one of the three implicated lots of the steroid methylprednisolone acetate and then those who had an injection of any other NECC medication.
Attorney Fred Pritzker is representing over 40 patients who suffered harm from NECC medication. You can contact him for a free consultation here regarding a steroid meningitis lawsuit against NECC, a clinic and others. Read about a lawsuit against NECC and a clinic for meningitis or other harm.
Spinal Meningitis Linked to Fungus in Methylprednisolone Acetate
You are part of the national fungal meningitis outbreak if you received a methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) injection, with MPA that definitely or likely came from one of the following 3 lots produced by the New England Compounding Center (NECC) [05212012@68, 06292012@26, 08102012@51], and you subsequently developed any of the following:
- Meningitis of unknown etiology following epidural or paraspinal injection (a shot in the spinal facet joint, sacroiliac joint,or spinal or paraspinal nerve root/ganglion block) after May 21, 2012;
- Posterior circulation stroke without a cardioembolic source and without documentation of a normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profile, following epidural or paraspinal injection after May 21, 2012;
- Osteomyelitis, abscess or other infection (e.g., soft tissue infection) of unknown etiology, in the spinal or paraspinal structures at or near the site of injection following epidural or paraspinal injection after May 21, 2012; or
- Osteomyelitis or worsening inflammatory arthritis of a peripheral joint (e.g., knee, shoulder, or ankle) of unknown etiology diagnosed following joint injection after May 21, 2012.
For purposes of the CDC meningitis case definition, “meningitis” means having one or more of the following symptoms: headache, fever, stiff neck, or photophobia, in addition to a cerebralspinal fluid (CSF) profile showing pleocytosis (>5 white blood cells, adjusting for presence of red blood cells by subtracting 1 white blood cell for every 500 red blood cells present) regardless of glucose or protein levels.
Meningitis, Spinal or Paraspinal Infection Linked to Other NECC Medication
For a patient’s fungal infection to be considered part of the outbreak, the following would have to be true:
- The patient had an epidural or paraspinal injection of NECC medication other than one of the three lots of methylprednisolone acetate after May21, 2012; and
- After that injection, the patient developed meningitisof unknown etiology or osteomyelitis, abscess or other infection (e.g., soft tissue infection) of unknown etiology, in the spinal or paraspinal structures at or near the site of injection.
Paraspinal injections include, but are not limited to, spinal facet joint injection, sacroiliac joint injection,or spinal or paraspinal nerve root/ganglion block. For the CDC case definition, “meningitis” is clinically diagnosed meningitis with one or more of the following symptoms: headache, fever, stiff neck, or photophobia, in addition to a CSF profile showing pleocytosis (>5 white blood cells, adjusting for presence of red blood cells by subtracting 1 white blood cell for every 500 red blood cells present) regardless of glucose or protein levels.
