Analysis of Neurological Complications Associated with Bacterial Meningitis at a Tertiary Care Centre
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21276/wz6bjx24Keywords:
Bacterial Meningitis, Neurological Complications, Hearing Loss, HydrocephalusAbstract
Background: Bacterial meningitis is a devastating infection, with a case fatality rate of up to 30% and 50% of survivors developing neurological complications. These include short-term complications such as focal neurological deficit and subdural effusion, and long-term complications such as hearing loss, seizures, cognitive impairment and hydrocephalus. The aim of this study was to conduct a prospective multivariate analysis of statistically significant predictors for neurological complications of childhood bacterial meningitis.
Materials and Methodology: Present study was conducted on children aged between 1 month and 16 years who were treated for bacterial meningitis at the Department of Paediatrics, Meenakshi Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu, India. 58 children reported with a confirmed bacterial aetiology. 27 patients were treated for probable bacterial meningitis.
Results: Of the 85 children treated for bacterial meningitis, 37 developed possible neurological complications (43.5%). The neurological complications observed were subdural effusion (25/85; 29.4%); recurrent seizures (7/85; 7.8%); hemiparesis (6/85; 6.5%); intracerebral hemorrhage (4/85; 4.7%); cerebritis (3/85; 3.9%); facial nerve palsy (3/85; 3.9%); hydrocephalus (2/85; 2.6%); and single cases of subdural hematoma, cerebral abscess, subdural empyema, and purulent ventriculitis (1.3%).
Conclusion: Age less than 12 months and severity of clinical presentation at admission (alteration of mental status and the occurrence of seizures) were identified as the strongest predictors for neurological complications and may be of value in selecting patients for more intensive care and treatment.
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