By Tim Ghianni
Reuters
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — A Tennessee doctor who ordered “extra tests” on the spinal fluid of a patient is credited by colleagues with unlocking the mystery of a devastating fungal meningitis outbreak and prompting a national alert that may have saved lives.
Dr. April Pettit, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University, could not figure out last month why a patient in his 50s was not responding to standard antibiotic treatments for meningitis, her colleagues at the school told Reuters.
During her research and discussions with the man’s family, she discovered that he had received an epidural steroid injection at St. Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgical Center in Nashville.
Full story: Tennessee doctor credited with cracking meningitis outbreak mystery