PMID: 9527368Apr 4, 1998Paper

Meningococcal meningitis:descriptive study of 76 cases in a pediatric hospital

Enfermedades infecciosas y microbiología clínica
G Muzzio de CalifanoE Palacio

Abstract

One of the principal causes of bacterial meningitis (BM) in children older than one month is Neisseria meningitidis (Nm). A quick diagnosis and an immediate treatment are considered essential for a good outcome. We propose this study with the purpose of evaluating the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients with BM caused by Nm and analyzing the effect on the presentation and incidence of sequelae and/or complications of the time elapsed since the starting of symptoms and the beginning of the treatment. We performed a retrospective analysis of the clinical registers of 76 patients diagnosed as BM caused by Nm entered in the Hospital de Pediatria Pedro de Elizalde, Buenos Aires, Argentina, during the years 1992 and 1993. We investigated age, sex, date of entrance, first symptoms, biochemistry of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), nutritional status, convulsions and/or complications, length of internation and conditions at discharge. Processing was done with Epi-info 5.0. Differences between qualitative variables were analyzed with chi 2 and differences between means with z-test. Boys were majority; fever was the most frequent initial symptom; petechiae were less frequently found, specially among infants. 79% of the ...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Bacterial Meningitis

Bacterial meningitis continues to be an important cause of mortality and morbidity throughout the world. Here is the latest research.

Bacterial Meningitis (ASM)

Bacterial meningitis continues to be an important cause of mortality and morbidity throughout the world. Here is the latest research.

CSF & Lymphatic System

This feed focuses on Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) and the lymphatic system. Discover the latest papers using imaging techniques to track CSF outflow into the lymphatic system in animal models.