Bacterial meningitis: still a cause of high mortality and severe neurological morbidity in childhood

Among 121 cases of bacterial meningitis (age 2 months to 12 years; mean, 35 months) treated over a 3-year period, Neisseria meningitidis was the most common pathogen (33 per cent), then Haemophilus influenzae (32 per cent) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (15 per cent). In the H. influenzae group, 95 pe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of tropical pediatrics (1980) Vol. 41; no. 5; p. 308
Main Authors:	Daoud, A S, al-Sheyyab, M, Batchoun, R G, Rawashdeh, M O, Nussair, M M, Pugh, R N
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England 01-10-1995
Subjects:	Brain Diseases - microbiology Chi-Square Distribution Child Child, Preschool Drug Resistance, Microbial Drug Resistance, Multiple Female Haemophilus influenzae Hearing Loss - microbiology Humans Infant Jordan - epidemiology Male Meningitis, Bacterial - complications Meningitis, Bacterial - drug therapy Meningitis, Bacterial - epidemiology Meningitis, Bacterial - microbiology Meningitis, Bacterial - mortality Neisseria meningitidis Nervous System Diseases - etiology Jordan
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Summary:	Among 121 cases of bacterial meningitis (age 2 months to 12 years; mean, 35 months) treated over a 3-year period, Neisseria meningitidis was the most common pathogen (33 per cent), then Haemophilus influenzae (32 per cent) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (15 per cent). In the H. influenzae group, 95 per cent were aged below 2 years. Overall mortality was 12 per cent: higher in the S. pneumoniae (17 per cent) and less common organism (21 per cent) groups. Neurological sequelae in 21 (20 per cent) of the 106 survivors included hearing impairment in 17 and quadriparesis in eight. Meningitis caused by S. pneumoniae contained a significantly higher proportion of children with neurological morbidity (P = 0.0128). The addition of dexamethasone treatment during the third year produced an apparent but not significant trend towards less mortality (P = 0.7568), fewer neurological sequelae (P = 0.3401) and less hearing impairment (P = 0.3903). Despite the availability of effective chemotherapy, bacterial meningitis will remain an important cause of high mortality and considerable morbidity.
ISSN:	0142-6338
DOI:	10.1093/tropej/41.5.308