Are mothers always right? When acute meningitis is something more

A 22-month-old girl with a history of a congenital occipital cutaneous cyst was brought to the paediatric emergency department for lethargy and occipital headache. She had been discharged 5 days before for acute meningitis without bacterial isolates. At physical observation, she presented with irritability and neck hyperextension, with negative meningeal signs. CT scan revealed a vermian cyst and hydrocephalus. She was submitted to neurosurgery with removal of an infected midline dermoid cyst with a fistulous track to the skin. Surgery was successful and without complications. During follow-up, the child was asymptomatic with normal psychomotor development.