People with severe meningitis or complications during illness may need to be treated in the intensive care unit of a hospital. They may need:

• Oxygen therapy, to help ease breathing and reduce the amount of work on the heart. A pulse oximeter often is used to measure the amount of oxygen in the blood. In addition, if people are too sick to breathe on their own, they may need a machine called a ventilator.
• Suctioning, to remove mucus from the bronchial tubes. A small plastic tube is inserted into the mouth or nose. The tube is attached to a machine that gently sucks out mucus. Other treatments, such as breathing exercises and massage, also can be used to remove mucus.
• Liquids given through a vein (intravenous, or IV). Sometimes people are too sick to drink liquids.