Open AccessCauses and outcome of bacterial meningitis in Malawian children
Author(s) -
Molyneux Em,
Alissa Walsh,
H Forsyth,
Madalitso Tembo,
James Mwenechanya,
K Kayira,
Lloyd Bwanaisa,
Alfred Njobvu,
Grace Malenga
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
malawi medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.43
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1995-7270
pISSN - 1995-7262
DOI - 10.4314/mmj.v15i2.10775
Subject(s) - medicine , neisseria meningitidis , meningitis , streptococcus pneumoniae , pediatrics , haemophilus influenzae , bacterial meningitis , coma (optics) , microbiology and biotechnology , antibiotics , genetics , physics , optics , bacteria , biology
598 children with bacterial meningitis were admitted to the paediatric wards of the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Blantyre, Malawi from July 1997 - March 2001. Patients were followed up at 1 and 6 months after hospital discharge when physical, neurological, developmental and hearing assessments were made. The most common causes of pyogenic meningitis were Streptococcus pneumoniae (40%), Haemophilus influenzae type b (28%), Neisseria meningitidis (11%), Salmonella species (5%). There was no growth on culture in 13% of cases. The overall mortality was 31% and 38% were left with significant sequelae. Indicators for a poor prognosis were younger age, lower coma score on admission, bacterial cause, nutritional status and HIV positivity.