Topics Discussed: meningitis; meningitis, bacterial; neurology.
Sections: Prevention, References.
Excerpt:"The mortality is associated with many factors but overall is about 5% for H. influenzae and meningococcal meningitis and in the vicinity of 20% for pneumococcal and Listeria meningitis in developed countries. The most common complications are listed in Table 16–7.Hearing loss occurs in a large proportion (10–30% depending on the pathogen) of children and is associated with severity of infection (lower CSF glucose levels, raised intracranial pressure, nuchal rigidity, Strep. pneumoniae as the causative agent) with profound hearing loss in 5%.32 Hearing loss, when it occurs, will be noted to some degree with the earliest testing.33 While many children will experience some improvement in hearing over time, others may have further progression of hearing loss over months to years.34 After bacterial meningitis, children are more likely to have cognitive impairments, such as poor linguistic and executive functions, and behavioral problems than their peers.35 As a result, even after apparent complete recovery from bacterial meningitis, children benefit from formal neuropsychiatric evaluation in addition to routine tests of hearing as the findings may be subtle. Three percent to 5% of children will have seizures, mental retardation, and/or some degree of spasticity or paresis.32..."
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