Premium
Outcome of paediatric bacterial meningitis 1979–1989
Author(s) -
Thomas David G
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1992.tb137345.x
Subject(s) - medicine , meningitis , pediatrics , dexamethasone , bacterial meningitis , haemophilus influenzae , retrospective cohort study , sensorineural hearing loss , hydrocephalus , hearing loss , surgery , antibiotics , microbiology and biotechnology , audiology , biology
Objective To determine the outcome of all cases of paediatric bacterial meningitis over the 11‐year period 1979–1989 and discuss the role of adjunctive therapy with dexamethasone. Design and setting The study was performed by retrospective case review at Flinders Medical Centre, a general teaching hospital. Results There were 80 episodes in 79 patients. The age range was 2 days to 15 years (mean, 1.7 years). Haemophilus influenzae type b was the commonest organism (60 of 80 cases; 75%). There were five deaths (6.3%). Sensorineural hearing loss was found in six of 71 children (8.5%) and was bilateral and severe in four (5.6%). Other problems included learning difficulties (12.7%), motor problems (7%), speech delay (7%), hyperactivity (4.2%), blindness (2.8%), obstructive hydrocephalus (2.8%) and recurrent seizures (2.8%). Conclusions Bacterial meningitis remains a disease with significant morbidity and mortality. Adjunctive therapy with dexamethasone should be considered, and vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae type b should be routine.